Chapter 134 Rest Assured
Lu Mingyue recalled the little incident on the train and casually mentioned to Zhu Xiaofang, "I was so scared today, Leilei was almost mistaken for a thief."
Qin Lie had just put his luggage at the door when he heard this. He paused, turned around, and asked, "What happened? Who misunderstood Leilei?"
Lu Mingyue had no choice but to briefly recount what had just happened.
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Lie's face darkened, and his tone was filled with anger: "What's wrong with this person? He's wrongly accusing the child for no reason. Why didn't he call us then? We were in the next carriage. We would have definitely come over and cleared things up for you."
Zhu Xiaofang frowned as well: "That's right. The child is so young. He must feel so wronged to be talked about like that. Look, Leilei was just laughing with Mingming. He must have been holding it in."
Mingming held Leilei's hand, looked up and said, "Leilei, if anyone bullies you again, I'll help you. My dad is really powerful."
Leilei was a little embarrassed by what was said and scratched his head: "It's okay, the aunt apologized later, and Dad even lent me a comic book to read."
Huo Zheng patted Qin Lie on the shoulder: "It's all in the past, nothing really happened, the kid didn't take it to heart."
As they spoke, the train slowly pulled into the station. The doors opened, and Qin Lie picked up Huo Zheng's large suitcase: "Let's go home."
As she stepped inside, the sun was already setting. Lu Mingyue put her luggage in the corner and slumped onto the stool, feeling as if all the bones in her body were about to fall apart.
The long, bumpy train ride, the stress of taking care of the child, and the worries along the way all turned into a heavy sense of exhaustion.
The two children weren't much better off. Huo Zheng leaned against the door frame, took a breath, and said with a smile, "You two rest for a while. It's almost time to eat. Shall we cook at home or go to the cafeteria?"
Yao Yao and Lei Lei had long lost their energy from the journey. They lay on the edge of the bed, their eyelids drooping, muttering that they were hungry.
Lu Mingyue rubbed her temples: "Let's go to the cafeteria, I'm too lazy to cook."
Huo Zheng agreed, picked up his lunchbox and went outside. He returned shortly with the food, all of which were hot, home-style dishes from the cafeteria.
The family sat around a small table, eating quietly with their hot food without saying much.
The braised pork was stewed until tender, and the seafood was fresh and flavorful. After a long day, even the simplest meal tasted especially delicious.
After eating a small half bowl of rice, Yao Yao leaned against Lu Mingyue's chest and yawned.
Leilei put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm full, I want to sleep."
Lu Mingyue patted the child's head, then suddenly remembered something and pulled out a few light blue pieces of paper from the drawer: "I almost forgot, these are the bath tickets the army gives to their families. They're still valid this week, so I'll go take a bath today and relax."
Huo Zheng's eyes lit up: "That's right, taking a hot bath in winter is more comfortable than anything else. This bathhouse is only open once a week, and we just happened to be there today."
After resting for half an hour and catching their breath, Lu Mingyue gave the children clean clothes, while Huo Zheng carried a change of clothes and soap. The family headed towards the military bathhouse.
Several family members were already waiting at the entrance of the bathhouse. They had just returned from their hometowns. When they saw Lu Mingyue, they greeted her with smiles: "Mingyue, you're here to take a bath as soon as you get back?"
Lu Mingyue smiled and agreed, secretly planning to give the child a good back massage later.
Once inside, the warmth immediately enveloped me, dispelling the chill from my body.
Huo Zheng took Lei Lei to the men's bathhouse, while Lu Mingyue led Yao Yao to a corner in the women's bathhouse.
The warm water poured over her body instantly relieved most of the fatigue from the journey. Yao Yao was initially afraid of the heat, but she gradually got used to it and started splashing around in the water.
Lu Mingyue helped her rub the mud off her arms and said with a smile, "Look at you, you've been playing all the way here, you're practically covered in mud."
After washing up, the children's faces were rosy and they looked much more energetic.
The evening breeze was cool, and Lu Mingyue reminded the children to wear their hats properly.
Although my hair wasn't dry yet, I couldn't be exposed to cold wind. My hat got wet, so I hung it on the stove to dry overnight when I got home.
On the way, Leilei said, "Dad, the water in the bathhouse is so warm, we'll come again next time."
Huo Zheng smiled and nodded: "Okay, we'll come again next week when it opens."
After returning from the bathhouse, Lu Mingyue placed the sleeping Yao Yao on the bed and tucked Lei Lei in. Turning around, she saw Huo Zheng with a slight frown.
"Still thinking about what happened on the train during the day?" Lu Mingyue walked over and gently patted his shoulder.
Huo Zheng stubbed out his cigarette and sighed, "I still feel uneasy. That woman was so fierce back then. Even though the child didn't cry, he might be harboring some resentment. I hope it doesn't leave any lasting trauma."
Lu Mingyue felt the same way. On the train that afternoon, Lei Lei's flushed face and the tears he was holding back while clutching the tin frog felt like pebbles in her heart.
"Don't overthink it. Let's keep a close eye on the child tonight and see how he reacts."
Huo Zheng: "Okay, you've had a long day too, let's go and rest for a while."
The two lay in bed, listening to the sea breeze outside the window, and soon drifted off to sleep.
Dinner consisted of hot leftovers. Huo Zheng specially picked up a piece of braised pork for Lei Lei and peeled a boiled egg for Yao Yao, while occasionally observing the expressions of the two children.
But Leilei was only focused on eating, and even tried to steal the vegetables from Yaoyao's plate.
They chatted occasionally, talking back and forth about the happy things that happened during the day, without mentioning the misunderstanding on the train at all.
After dinner, Huo Zheng suggested taking the children to the yard to look at the stars.
Watching the children running and laughing in the yard, Huo Zheng turned to Lu Mingyue and whispered, "It seems the children really don't take it to heart."
Lu Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a smile: "Children are simple-minded. They don't remember happy things, and they forget unhappy things even faster. We've been worrying for nothing all afternoon."
For children, minor mishaps on the train are like dandelions blown away by the wind—they're forgotten as soon as they turn around.
After the children fell asleep at night, Lu Mingyue and Huo Zheng sat by the bed, looking at the two small figures, and couldn't help but smile.
Huo Zheng held Lu Mingyue's hand: "From now on, let's worry less. The child is stronger than we think."
Lu Mingyue nodded, feeling relieved.
Two days after returning from Beijing, Lu Mingyue invited Zheng Xiuhua and Zhu Xiaofang to go to the beach to collect seafood.
"On the way back, Leilei kept talking about coming back to go beachcombing."
Zhu Xiaofang: "Don't even mention the children, I want to too."
The three of them squatted on the beach, holding small shovels, digging and chatting.
“I went to the family compound a few days ago and heard that Lin Qiaozhen and Li Jianguo are getting married.”
Zheng Xiuhua suddenly spoke, pausing with the shovel in her hand, her tone tinged with regret, "But Zhang Haihua disagrees, saying that Lin Qiaozhen's family is not good enough, and she just won't agree no matter what."
Lu Mingyue stopped what she was doing, somewhat surprised: "Really? I saw them getting along quite closely before, and I thought Zhang Haihua had already tacitly agreed."
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