29
With no food at home, Chu Qinghuai had no choice but to order groceries online and have them delivered to his door. Although it was more expensive, it was a last resort, as the three children were too hungry to make a fuss.
While waiting for the food, he first made milk powder for the children. The three children sat in a row at the table, holding their milk bottles and leaning lazily against their high chairs, drinking with their heads tilted back.
Cai Cai was enjoying herself so much that she couldn't help but lift her chubby little feet and prop them up on the table, swaying them back and forth. Xiao He noticed this and copied her, also lifting her feet up. Chu Qinghuai saw this and slapped her down without thinking, saying, "That's so impolite. Don't imitate your brother and do bad things."
Then, with the same expression, he said to Cai Cai, "You've corrupted your sister."
Cai Cai wasn't upset by the scolding. She shook her empty bottle and said, "Daddy, I'm hungry."
"Okay." Chu Qinghuai replied helplessly, cut the peeled eggs into small pieces, and distributed them to the three children. "The food will be here soon, just bear with it a little longer."
Xiao He was lazy and didn't want to eat with a spoon, so she just reached into the bowl and grabbed the egg with her hands. Inevitably, the egg broke into pieces. When Chu Qinghuai saw this, he coughed as a warning and threatened her, "Look how dirty your clothes and hands are. If Mom sees this, she'll hit you."
Not to mention the germaphobe Zhong Wan, even Chu Qinghuai couldn't stand it. His eyelids twitched. This child had only learned to eat with a spoon for a few days, and now he was back to square one. Did eating with his hands really taste that good?
"My mom would never hit me," Xiaohe said.
Chu Qinghuai laughed angrily, forcibly grabbed her hand and wiped it clean with a wet wipe, "Mommy won't hit you, but I'm going to hit you!"
"My dad couldn't bear to hit me either."
I don't know where this clever little devil learned those words.
Chu Qinghuai went to wash the dishes, telling the three of them to eat properly. When he came back, he found Xiaohe resting her chin on one hand and scratching her hair with the other. He remembered that Zhong Wan had texted him last night that "Xiaohe has a lot of lotus petals falling off her head," and he became interested. He asked her with a "Hey," "Xiaohe, I heard from my mother that you had some petals falling off yesterday?"
"Yes, so many bitter petals, I'm not pretty anymore."
She closed her eyes, shook her head, and cupped her face, as if she didn't want to recall it at all.
Chu Qinghuai continued to guide him: "Do you know why you lost so many flower petals?"
"Because I miss my parents very much, and they said that if I could be with my parents, I wouldn't feel this way."
Who are they?
"Yunlin's sisters who grew up with me."
Yunlin must be where she used to live. Chu Qinghuai was stunned when he heard this. His mind went blank for a moment. He sat there like a petrified fossil, his eyes dark and unfathomable. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"You mean your mom and dad? You miss them a lot?"
Xiaohe was puzzled. What kind of question was her father asking? "Of course I want to!" She felt lonely at nights without her mother and suffered when her father was away on business.
But Chu Qinghuai felt that Xiaohe was missing her biological parents, the couple who were both lotus spirits.
He's an imposter, only having a brief opportunity to raise a child.
The chances of having three adorable children without pain were already extremely slim. After nearly two months together, he became so immersed in the role of father that he almost forgot the most important point: he and Zhong Wan had no blood relation to the children. He was human, and ultimately couldn't be their father forever.
Clearly aware of this, Chu Qinghuai felt as if he were enveloped in cold snow, his whole body chilled, every cell from head to toe screaming helplessness and unacceptability.
Sure enough, he knew it; how could he possibly be so lucky... all happiness comes at a price.
The three children didn't know what was wrong with their father. He seemed very sad. Just a moment ago he was saying he would make them a delicious lunch, but now he had a completely different expression, as if he had lost his soul. Even when Cai Cai climbed onto the table, she wasn't scolded.
Mumu jumped off the chair without hesitation, walked over to Chu Qinghuai's legs, and touched his arm: "Daddy, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine."
"No, nothing's wrong."
She's young, but not stupid; how could she not see her father's unhappy expression?
Chu Qinghuai took a deep breath, not understanding where his anxiety and insecurity came from. He picked up Mumu and placed her on the table. Looking at the three children whose features were somewhat similar, he felt a moment of daze and asked, "Do you still remember what your parents look like?"
"ah!"
Xiaohe exclaimed, "Dad, how could you say such a thing? Don't you know what you look like?"
“No, I mean your parents who gave birth to you.” He remained calm and spread his hands: “As you can see, my mother and I, who are sleeping in the bedroom, can’t conjure oranges, vegetables, or lotus flowers. So, we are different from you. Sooner or later, you will return to your real parents. At that time, I will also have my own children.”
In short, he was conveying the message that "I am not your father, and you are not my children."
These words were more cruel than a knife's edge. Even children who hadn't gone to kindergarten could understand them. They all seized on the last sentence: Did Mom and Dad have a new child? Did they not want them anymore? How could that be!
The three babies had never been more heartbroken than they were now. Broken tears streamed down their cheeks, their eyes were red, and their little shoulders rose and fell slowly with each sob.
Our parents don't want us anymore.
These words transformed into a thick wisp of smoke, swirling above their heads. Just imagining that scene was enough to make one feel suffocated. The happiness and joy they had painstakingly built up were shattered by Chu Qinghuai's casual remark.
Tears mingled with sobs, echoing throughout the house.
Chu Qinghuai's first reaction upon seeing this scene was surprise. He hadn't expected that the children would have such deep feelings for him. His second reaction was heartache, as the cries were like knives scraping his heart.
Did he say something wrong?
But he didn't know how to handle it. This idea didn't come out of nowhere. Chu Qinghuai recalled the unpleasant memories of the past, coupled with some ambiguous words from Officer Chen. He just wanted his children to grow up safely and on the right track, rather than having parents who couldn't help him at all.
Moreover, both Officer Chen and Brother Ying have said that the child is only being raised by them for a period of time, and no one knows whether it will be a few months or a few years.
Chu Qinghuai originally wanted to selfishly keep them with him for life, but he was an ordinary human being. When his daughter and son had health problems, he could only fly around like a headless fly and couldn't help them at all.
Just like last night's critical situation, if the couple were given another chance, they would still be a hindrance.
Babies will live longer than human parents, so the future should be very bright.
-
Zhong Wan was awakened by loud crying. When she went out of the room, she saw that Chu Qinghuai had three little ones clinging to him, each one crying more heartbreakingly than the last.
"What's wrong?" She rubbed her eyes and frowned.
Chu Qinghuai glanced at her, looking bewildered.
Mumu replied, "Mom and Dad don't want us anymore, boohoo."
"I didn't say I didn't want you guys."
Chu Qinghuai's smile was forced, and his phone on the table showed his chat interface with Brother Ying.
bird: [I asked the director, and he said that for Little Lotus's case, we need to ask her parents. Every kind of spirit has a different upbringing and habits, so we need to treat the specific situation.]
bird: [You can ignore this phenomenon; it won't have any negative impact on the body anyway, at most the baby will be a little uncomfortable.]
Bird: [When we spirits are young, we rely heavily on our parents to grow up, so having the spiritual energy of our relatives to provide for us is definitely a good thing!]
...
"When I was little, a fortune teller said I had little affinity with children. I'm so scared that it's true. What if my babies will have a worse time with me..."
"Pah! What nonsense are you spouting? You believe what a liar says? Don't you have a brain? This is the 21st century! We should believe in science!"
Chu Qinghuai retorted: "Then how do you explain our children, one an orange spirit, one a vegetable spirit, and one a lotus spirit?"
Zhong Wan was speechless; this was indeed beyond the scope of science.
"Anyway, no matter what, don't bring up that old story again. Mumu, Caicai, and Xiaohe will always be our darlings. Even if... even if they go back to their real families in the future, it won't change the fact that they called us Mom and Dad."
Zhong Wan's hair was still disheveled and hung limply over her chest. Her face was serious: "Also, don't say things like 'there will be new babies' in front of the children. They can understand. What if they really think we don't love them anymore?"
This statement is not just biased; it's downright hurtful.
She carefully read the message Eagle had sent, and pondered for a moment: "If this is true, then we do need to help the babies find their biological parents, but—"
She really couldn't bear to part with them. You get attached to kittens, let alone three babies with such rich emotions.
Zhong Wan wished the children were her own, so she could stay with them as they grew up.
Chu Qinghuai held Mumu and Xiaohe in his arms, while Zhong Wan held Caicai. Chu Qinghuai's words had a significant impact on the children, especially Xiaohe, who had just recovered from a minor illness and was now suffering such a heavy blow. She leaned on her father's shoulder, too sad to speak.
She loves her parents the most, and her older brother and sister the second most. She doesn't want any other children to replace her and her older brother and sister as her parents' new baby.
Chu Qinghuai finally realized how rude he had been. "I was wrong. I'll never say such things again. Don't be sad. It was just a joke."
But this joke isn't funny at all.
The living room was filled with a faint sadness and silence.
Zhong Wan was trying to cheer up the children, so she pretended to hit Chu Qinghuai and said, "Bad dad, hit him."
Upon seeing this, Mumu immediately waved her hands and couldn't help but say, "No, no, Daddy, you're so nice!"
Chu Qinghuai unconsciously clenched his fists, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He felt like he was a monster, why did he have to make such a fuss?
To soothe their young hearts, he decided to take the children to the amusement park tomorrow.
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