“Dangdangdang…”

As soon as the school bell rang, the students in the classroom became restless. Duan Xiaoying, who was sitting on the podium, heard the sound and looked up at the students below.

This class was originally a music class, but the music teacher took a leave of absence, so she, the head teacher, was asked to substitute for the class.

She had been lecturing on the test papers for the whole day. She was tired and her throat was not feeling well, so she stopped teaching and let the children study on their own. When the school bell rang, she did not stay in class as usual. She looked at the children for a while and then stood up to announce the end of school.

As Duan Xiaoying finished speaking, the restlessness turned into noise, and the students in the classroom poured out, some running, some jumping, talking and laughing as they left the classroom.

Among these children, He Yan, who had his head hung and was slowly packing his books, was particularly conspicuous, even though his seat was always at the back of the class.

Seeing him packing up and preparing to go out, Duan Xiaoying shouted, "He Yan!"

He Yan stopped and turned to look over.

Duan Xiaoying waved at him: "Come here."

He Yan pursed his lips, glanced outside at his deskmate, asked him to go back first, then he walked slowly to the podium: "Teacher."

Duan Xiaoying nodded and directly explained the reason for letting him stay: "It's like this. It's been a long time since you transferred here, and I haven't had a good talk with your parents. I happen to have time today, and I plan to visit your home tonight. Remember to tell your parents when you go back."

"Ah?" He Yan opened his mouth wide, and after a long pause he closed it and asked, "Do I really have to visit my home?"

Seeing that he looked uneasy, Duan Xiaoying said gently, "Don't worry, I just want to talk to your parents. This is also for your study, don't you think?"

He Yan understood the reason, but he did so badly in the exam this time and the teacher had to come to his home, so he always felt that he would be beaten.

Although he had never been beaten in his life, his best friend was often beaten when he came to Pingchuan Island, and it hurt a lot. His father was so tall and big, so it must have hurt a lot when he beat people.

But He Yan was still young and did not dare to refuse the teacher's request for a home visit, so he had to lower his head and said sadly, "Teacher, I understand."

Duan Xiaoying had no idea what He Yan was thinking. When he heard him say this, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Well, it's getting late. You should go back quickly too." Then he put away the lesson plan and walked out with He Yan.

…

When He Yan got home, Su Ting was preparing food in the kitchen. When she heard the voice, she turned around and asked loudly, "Is school over?"

After asking, I waited for a while and heard no sound, so I put down my work and walked out.

There was no one in the living room, but a sound that sounded like sighing could be heard in the second bedroom. Su Ting walked to the door of the second bedroom and looked inside. Sure enough, He Yan was inside, sitting on the edge of the bed and sighing again and again.

Su Ting thought it was funny, but she didn't show it out of consideration for the kid's pride. She just asked, "Are the test results out? Didn't you do well?"

He Yan looked over with a pitiful expression: "Mom, I'm going to be beaten."

Su Ting was shocked and sat next to him and asked in a loud voice: "Being beaten? Who beat him? Why was he beaten?"

"I got beaten by my father. I, I..." He Yan stood up sadly, walked to the desk, opened his schoolbag, took out the test paper from it and handed it to Su Ting, saying the rest of the sentence, "I didn't do well in the exam."

"If you don't do well in the exam, then you don't take the exam..." Su Ting smiled, opened the paper and looked down.

Upon seeing this, Su Ting was stunned.

Fifty-nine points.

Let’s look at Chinese again. I got 42 points.

Seeing her silence, He Yan lowered his head even more. Just as he was about to confess, he heard Su Ting say, "You did well in the exam this time!"

Eh? ! !

He Yan suddenly raised his head and looked at Su Ting, but saw that she was smiling. He couldn't help but ask tentatively: "Do you know... we have to take a test and get a perfect score of 100?"

Su Ting: "...Do you think I'm stupid?"

He Yan asked again: "Then do you know that I failed the exam?"

“Yes.”

He Yan lowered his head and couldn't help muttering: "If you knew that, why did you still say I did well in the exam?"

Su Ting realized that He Yan came here today to pick a fight. She took a deep breath and said, "If you want me to criticize you, that's fine. Tell me what happened to you. You didn't even get 60 points out of 100! You're only in the first grade of elementary school. What will you do when you go to junior high school or high school? Tell me yourself. There are more than 50 people in the class. How many places did you rank in the exam?"

He Yan just muttered a few words, and when he saw that she seemed really angry, he panicked and lowered his head and said pitifully, "Third from the last."

"Last one—last one, how many?"

"Third from the bottom." He Yan repeated.

Su Ting was surprised: "Is there anyone in your class who scored worse than you?"

"What do you mean?" He Yan felt insulted.

"Ahem, this is what happened. Weren't you in the seedling class in the capital before? After coming to the island, you suddenly jumped to the first grade and had one semester less classes than other students. It's normal to fall behind in learning. Your father and I are mentally prepared. So this semester, no matter how many points you get in the exam or how far you rank last, we think we can accept it. Do you understand?"

"clear."

"Also, think about it, you've only studied for a month, but you've scored better than the other two kids who've studied for half a year. Doesn't this prove that you're smart?"

He Yan asked uncertainly: "It seems like that?"

"That's right. I think you just had a short time for this exam. If you were also in the first grade last year, you would definitely be ranked first in the grade this time."

Although He Yan was overjoyed by the compliments, he was still very self-aware: "I'm not that sure." The first two subjects both got 100 points!

But Su Ting was now full of confidence: "I believe in you! You don't have to worry too much about this exam. Your father said that this semester is for you to adapt to the school environment. If your grades can't keep up, you will be allowed to continue to study in the next semester. By then, you will have studied a few more months than others, and you will definitely get first place in the exam."

He Yan was very happy at first, but was dumbfounded after hearing the latter part: "What? I will still be in the first grade next semester?"

"Yes." Su Ting nodded, and seeing that he looked unhappy, she asked, "Are you unwilling?"

"What about my classmates? What grade will they be in?"

"They will be promoted to the second grade."

He Yan immediately said: "I want to be in the second grade too. I don't want to be in the first grade forever!"

Su Ting didn't expect He Yan to react so strongly, and explained, "It's not that you have to study in the first grade all the time, just one more year. Anyway, you should have entered school in the second half of the year."

He Yan said firmly: "I don't want to! I want to be in the second grade!"

Su Ting didn't care what grade He Yan would be in next semester. The first-grade courses were not difficult anyway, and if he made up for it during the summer vacation, it shouldn't delay his promotion to the second grade. She just wondered why he was so determined not to repeat a grade.

Thinking of this, Su Ting asked directly.

He Yan hesitated and didn't want to say anything.

If he wasn't so shy, Su Ting might not have asked, but the more he did that, the more she wanted to get to the bottom of it. In the end, she gave him extra lessons to get the answer: "We are classmates. If they are all in the second grade next semester and I am still in the first grade, how embarrassed I will be!"

After getting the answer, Su Ting's first reaction was, what a loss.

My second reaction was that this little brat’s competitive spirit is really weird!

After figuring out the answer, Su Ting didn't stay in the second bedroom any longer. She still had to prepare ingredients for dinner. But just as she walked to the door, she remembered something and turned to ask, "Do you want to go to the city on Sunday?"

"What are you playing?"

"Go shopping in a department store and pick out a toy you like."

He Yan was surprised: "Really?"

"Well, you've been working very hard lately and you did well on the exam, which exceeded your father's and my expectations, so we wanted to celebrate for you." Su Ting remembered and asked, "You've been to Pingchuan Island for so long, you haven't been to the city to play, right?"

The kid shook his head like a wave drum.

"Then it's settled, let's go to the city for a day on Sunday."

"Is Dad going too?"

"Let's go, the three of us."

After getting the exact answer, He Yan excitedly lay down on the bed. However, the bed was too hard. Not only did he not bounce up after lying down, but there was also a "clang" sound.

Su Ting wanted to scold him, but seeing that he was stunned by the collision, the words on the tip of her tongue changed to one word: "Serves you right!" and turned into the kitchen.

But just as she picked up the kitchen knife, He Yan, who was grimacing from being hit, ran over and asked, holding the door with his hand: "Dad, do you really think I did well in the exam?"

Su Ting thought that since the results were only released today, He Dongchuan had no idea whether he had done well or not. However, she did not want to dampen his confidence, so she said, "You should have done better than he expected."

"Then I don't have to be beaten?"

Hearing this, Su Ting recalled the beginning of the conversation. She put down the kitchen knife, crossed her arms, looked at the door and asked, "You looked so depressed when you came back. Did you think your dad would beat you if you did poorly on the exam?"

"Yeah, Brother Beibei gets beaten every time he doesn't do well on a test."

"Who is Brother Beibei?"

"He was our former neighbor."

Su Ting said, "Don't worry, your father is not that violent. He won't beat you." She picked up the kitchen knife and continued working. After a while, she found that He Yan had not left. She turned her head and asked, "Is there anything else you want?"

He Yan shook his head and said, "The teacher said she will come to visit us in the evening."

"Which teacher?"

"Teacher Duan is Han Bowen's mother. She is our class teacher."

Su Ting knew Han Bowen, the second child of the Han family who lived in Building 65. He was also six years old this year and usually got along well with He Yan. Han Bowen's mother was Duan Xiaoying, who had a good relationship with Chen Lin, who lived in Building 65, and Wang Lixia who lived next door, but Su Ting had never interacted with her.

But no matter how unfamiliar they were, he was still He Yan's homeroom teacher. Su Ting nodded and said, "Then I'll talk to your father later."

…

While He Dongchuan was cooking, Su Ting talked about He Yan's test scores and the fact that he didn't want to continue to study in the first grade next semester.

He Dongchuan was not too surprised to learn that He Yan did not pass the exam, until later when he frowned: "If he does not repeat the grade, will he be able to catch up?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. I think Xiaoyan is quite smart and knows how to work hard. I've already agreed with him that I'll give him half an hour of extra lessons every night. There are still more than two months left in this semester, and I think his grades will improve by the end of the semester."

He Dongchuan glanced at Su Ting and asked, "Do you want to give him extra lessons?"

Su Ting thought he was looking down on her, so she raised her chin and asked, "Why? No? I already have a junior high school diploma, okay?"

Although her original body only attended junior high school for one year out of three due to the big movement, and her junior high school diploma was a bit unworthy, Su Ting graduated from a regular undergraduate program in her previous life, so she did not feel guilty at all when she said this.

He Dongchuan smiled and said, "Okay, since you are willing to help him with his studies, I will talk to the school leaders and let him continue his studies normally."

Su Ting nodded, thinking that what he said was quite pleasing to the ear.

…

Duan Xiaoying came over just after we finished our meal.

She didn't go in directly, but stood at the door, seeing that the dishes on the table had not been cleared away, and asked hesitantly, "Are you still eating?"

Su Ting took a stool and went over to greet him: "We just finished eating, please sit down."

Duan Xiaoying did not sit down immediately after hearing her words, but stood at the door and asked, "I think He Yan has told you the reason why I came to your house, right?"

"Yes, he told me when he came back." Su Ting answered, then turned to look at He Yan who was standing in the middle of the living room, "Pour your teacher a glass of water."

He Yan quickly moved, walked to the cupboard, picked up the teapot, shook it, and asked, "Is cold tea okay?"

"All is fine." Duan Xiaoying said gently.

He Yan found an enamel cup from the cupboard, poured half a cup of boiled water into it, then walked up to Duan Xiaoying and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

Duan Xiaoying took the enamel cup, but did not rush to drink. She raised her head while holding it in her hand, looked at He Yan, then looked at He Dongchuan who had just come out of the kitchen after putting the dishes away, and finally turned her gaze to Su Ting and asked, "Comrade Su, can I talk to you alone?"

Su Ting was slightly startled: "Chat with me alone? This..."

She thought this request was strange. He Dongchuan was He Yan's biological father, so it would be more appropriate to talk to him during a home visit. Why did Duan Xiaoying go against the grain and want to talk to her, her stepmother, alone?

Duan Xiaoying explained: "We are all women, so some things are easier for us to say."

Su Ting frowned, thinking that what they wanted to talk about was the child, not something private, so why was He Dongchuan embarrassed to speak up?

But Duan Xiaoying was He Yan's homeroom teacher after all, and she couldn't refuse him bluntly, so she had to say, "Okay then." She looked up at He Dongchuan.

He Dongchuan said, "I'll take Xiaoyan out for a walk. Call me if you need anything." He called He Yan out.

…

After the two grandfathers left, Su Ting moved a stool and sat down opposite Duan Xiaoying, and looked up at her.

Although she had not had much contact with Duan Xiaoying, Su Ting was not unfamiliar with her because she was a hot topic in the family compound. Therefore, during the time she often stayed at the playground, Su Ting often heard people mention her.

It's not that she looks so good. Although she has a voluptuous figure, a slim waist and legs, and delicate facial features, she is a beauty that conforms to the aesthetic standards of this era. However, today's values ​​focus more on inner qualities, and it is impossible to rely on beauty to commit crimes.

It's not that her style of doing things is so eccentric. In fact, she has a very good reputation in the family institution. She has a gentle personality and can get along well with everyone.

She became a hot topic mainly because she was born into a working-class family, had a city hukou, had a high school education, and did not go to the countryside in 1968, but instead worked in a state-owned factory.

Eating commercial grains and working at a government-funded job are conditions that are among the best among all the military wives at the base.

But she chose to marry a second-time husband who was eight years older than her and had three children.

Although Duan Xiaoying explained that she did not require any conditions from the man, as long as he treated her well, to this day, many military wives still feel that Han Bin had put a spell on her.

Well, black magic was Su Ting’s own understanding. Everyone described it in a more euphemistic way, and it just seemed that she was not thinking clearly.

But it is also recognized that she has good character. Generally speaking, stepmothers have a bad reputation, and it is considered good if they ignore their stepchildren after marriage. It is common to mistreat children, but Duan Xiaoying is the exception. She really treats Han Bowen and his two siblings as her own children.

Since she married Han Bin, not only have their three children worn neat and tidy clothes, they have also grown whiter and fatter, and smile more often. It's obvious that they are living a good life.

Everyone thinks she is a kind person.

Su Ting didn't dare to judge whether Duan Xiaoying was kind or not, but it was true that she was lucky.

Pingchuan Island is not large in area and has few factories, so there are very few job opportunities. Therefore, it is common for military wives to wait for two or three years without being assigned a job after joining the army.

But less than two months after Duan Xiaoying joined the army, he was assigned to teach at a military primary school.

This is not just because she has a high level of education. Although there are not many military wives with a high level of education, among hundreds of military wives, you can always find a dozen who have attended junior high school or high school, and not all of these military wives have jobs.

Duan Xiaoying is lucky in that she has a good neighbor, Chen Lin.

Chen Lin also has a high school education and was lucky enough to join the army when the military primary schools were expanding their enrollment. She and two other wives of military personnel were admitted to the military primary school.

Because of her acquaintance with Chen Lin, Duan Xiaoying got first-hand information about the military district primary school recruiting, and with her help, she got the opportunity to give a trial class, and then successfully got the job.

After hearing the whole story of how Duan Xiaoying got the job, Su Ting had only one feeling: how could people's luck differ so much?

Of course, she was a little envious in her heart. She was lazy and had no patience to teach children. Giving He Yan extra lessons was enough of a headache for her. If she was really given the opportunity to teach elementary school students, she would back out first.

Of the jobs available outside the family home, she only had her eyes on three: a clerk at the Women's Federation, a clerk at the Military Dependents Placement Office, and a salesperson at a grain station.

The first two are clerical workers with easy work, while the latter are only busy for a few days at the end and beginning of each month, and have the remaining twenty days to slack off. There is no boss to supervise them, so it's comfortable just thinking about it.

But these three jobs have one thing in common: there are few positions and they are very popular.

A military wife like her, who has just arrived and whose husband's position and her own conditions are not very outstanding, basically has no chance of getting these jobs.

This is also the main reason why Su Ting draws comic strips. If she can't find an easy and stable job, then she might as well do something easy.

After her wild thoughts, Su Ting raised her hand and looked at her watch.

Eight minutes had passed, but Duan Xiaoying was still holding the enamel cup, with no intention of speaking.

She was patient, but Su Ting didn't have that much time to waste with her, so she said, "Teacher, just say whatever you want to say."

Seeing her speak, Duan Xiaoying moved, changed the handle of the enamel cup and said, "I came here mainly for He Yan's grades. He didn't do very well in the exam this time. Did you know about this?"

"Yes, he told me."

Duan Xiaoying thought Su Ting would say a few more words about this matter, but after waiting for a long time, she didn't say anything, so she couldn't help asking: "And then?"

Su Ting asked in confusion: "What then?"

Duan Xiaoying's brows gradually wrinkled.

She has always had a bad impression of Su Ting.

At first, I thought she was a bad person. She didn't interact much with her neighbors during the half month she followed the army to the island. Later, I thought she was two-faced. She behaved like two different people when He Dongchuan was at home and when he was not.

When Su Ting first followed the army to the island, the He family had never eaten in the canteen, and she prepared three meals a day. As soon as He Dongchuan left home, Su Ting changed, hiding at home all day long, and relying on He Yan to buy three meals a day from the canteen.

I thought she would pretend when He Dongchuan came back from his mission, but it turned out that she did pretend. However, she would only cook when he was at home, that is, at night or on Sundays. She usually ate in the cafeteria for breakfast and lunch.

Because of these things, Su Ting's reputation has been declining rapidly recently.

Originally, Su Ting's good or bad reputation had nothing to do with her, but who made them all stepmothers?

Su Ting has a bad character, but people will not just say that she has a bad character, but will instead extend this to the entire group, saying that there are a few good stepmothers out there, but they are all like that!

In Duan Xiaoying's opinion, since she has decided to marry a man with children, she should be prepared to be a mother and take good care of the children after marriage. If she doesn't want to take care of other people's children, then don't look for someone to take care of children, there are many unmarried young men to choose from.

People like Su Ting who get married but refuse to treat their children well are like a bad apple. Not only do they harm their children, they also bring disgrace to all stepmothers.

How hateful!

Therefore, upon hearing Su Ting's question, Duan Xiaoying's face darkened instantly: "As an outsider, some words may not be so appropriate for me to say, but..."

As a young person who reads a lot of popular novels, Su Ting knew that the content that followed would not be very pleasant, so she said decisively: "Since you know it is inappropriate, don't say it."

Duan Xiaoying choked and took a deep breath to calm down. She ignored her words and said, "He Yan is my student, our families live so close, and we are both stepmothers. Even if it's not so suitable, I still want to persuade you."

Su Ting rolled her eyes and was about to speak when Duan Xiaoying interrupted her: "Although He Yan is not your biological child, since you married Captain He even though you knew he had a child, you should be nice to He Yan."

Su Ting thought to herself, I am not the one who is eager to be a stepmother. Before I traveled through time, I never thought that I would like to be a mother. And: "I think I am very good to He Yan."

This remark refreshed Duan Xiaoying's perception of Su Ting's thick skin, so much so that she was at a loss for words for a moment, and it took her a long time to find her voice: "If you really treat He Yan well, you wouldn't be so cold when he got the last place in the exam. As a teacher, I hope you can spend more time on him."

Su Ting realized that Duan Xiaoying was not visiting her home today, but was here to teach her a lesson. Her face turned cold and she said, "Teacher Duan, from the moment you sat down until now, you have been blaming me, saying that I was not good to He Yan and did not put enough effort into him. Then let me ask you, do you know why he ranked last in the exam this time?"

Duan Xiaoying didn't quite understand what she meant by asking this question, and said hesitantly, "Student He Yan...is not very smart in his studies. Although he attends classes very seriously and submits his homework on time, the error rate of his homework is relatively high."

Su Ting chuckled: "It seems that you don't know, Teacher Duan."

Hearing the sarcasm in her words, Duan Xiaoying frowned slightly: "I know that it is difficult for a parent to admit that a child is not smart enough, but you can't avoid the facts. Moreover, I believe that hard work can make up for lack of talent. As long as He Yan works hard and you give him more guidance, he will be able to improve his grades sooner or later."

"I really don't like you saying that Xiaoyan is not smart enough, because my opinion is exactly the opposite of yours," Su Ting said with a cold face, "Xiaoyan ranked last in the exam this time because he was in the seedling class before coming to Pingchuan Island. In total, he only attended the first grade for one month!"

"Why..."

Seeing the surprise on Duan Xiaoying's face, Su Ting raised her eyebrows and asked, "Don't you believe it? Didn't He Dongchuan mention this when he helped Xiaoyan enroll?"

This is of course impossible. Although the policy in this era was not as perfect as in later generations and students had student records in elementary school, unless they were new students, they needed to provide certificates from their previous schools.

He Yan attended a nursery class in the capital, so naturally he did not have a certificate issued by the primary school. The fact that He Dongchuan sent him to the second grade class must have explained the situation.

Duan Xiaoying is the head teacher of Class 2, so the school would certainly not hide these things from her.

She was so surprised, obviously she didn't take it to heart. That's why she didn't think about it for a moment and blamed He Yan's poor performance on him not being smart enough.

So the question is, since she doesn't care about such an important matter, does she really care about He Yan?

If she didn't care about He Yan that much, why did she come to Su Ting to say these things?

Very intriguing.

Duan Xiaoying felt very regretful, she had indeed forgotten about this matter.

She has too many things to do every day. From outsiders, it seems that teachers have an easy job and only need to teach a few classes every day, but in reality, the workload is quite heavy.

There are five grades and twelve classes in the military district primary school, but there are less than ten teachers. Each teacher has to teach at least six classes a day. If they also teach elective classes, the daily schedule is basically full.

Although Duan Xiaoying did not teach elective courses, she was the head teacher of Class 2, Grade 1. There were many things to do in the class, and she could only prepare lessons and mark homework in her spare time.

But she has no free time. When she gets home, she has to cook, sweep the floor, and wash clothes for everyone in the family. Since she became a teacher, she has never gone to bed before 11 o'clock and usually wakes up before dawn in the morning.

She is so busy every day that she has no way of remembering her students' previous learning situation, considering that she teaches three classes with hundreds of students in total.

What's more, He Yan sat at the back, his grades were not good, and he was not very naughty, so he was not outstanding in the class. If he hadn't done so badly in the exam this time, dragging down the class, and she knew about his family situation, she wouldn't have come to visit him at home.

But it was no use regretting it now. Since He Yan was attending a seedling raising class in his hometown, it was understandable that he ranked last in the exam this time. Accordingly, the reason for her home visit was no longer tenable.

Duan Xiaoying wanted to find an excuse to leave, but when she looked up, she saw Su Ting's slightly mocking eyes. She clenched her hands and said with a stiff smile: "It is indeed my fault that I didn't think of these things, but I think that since He Yan is so smart, we as parents should teach our children more carefully to prevent him from neglecting his studies. Don't you agree?"

Before Su Ting could answer, Duan Xiaoying changed the subject and said, "Just like He Yan, if you could watch him while he was doing his homework and spend more time coaching him, I think there wouldn't be so many mistakes in the homework he handed in, and he would be able to get better results in this exam..."

Su Ting interrupted and said, "Teacher Duan, I think we need to first clarify everyone's responsibilities. As parents, our responsibilities are to take care of children, earn money to support the family, and send them to school. As teachers, your responsibilities are to teach and educate. If children are naughty and unwilling to learn, we parents can ask for help, but if children are smart and willing to learn, the rest is your responsibility."

After Su Ting asked, she didn't wait for Duan Xiaoying to answer, and went straight to the next question: "Xiao Yan didn't do well in the exam this time. I think you have a big problem as a teacher. If you can take the fact that he has never been to elementary school into consideration and arrange for a student to take care of him more, I think with his intelligence, he won't get such a low score in this exam. Don't you agree, Teacher Duan?"

Oh, it's just a weird way of shirking responsibility, who wouldn't be able to do that?

…

Thinking that Su Ting and Duan Xiaoying might call him back at any time, He Dongchuan didn't take He Yan for a long run and just played on the beach.

The beach was very lively after dinner. The adults were either chatting together or walking along the waves. The quieter children were building sand houses, while the more naughty ones were making sand balls and throwing them around. He Yan was the latter.

He Dongchuan met someone he knew and went over to chat with him for a while. Then he turned around and saw He Yan getting into a fight with someone and was covered in sand. He suddenly felt overwhelmed.

He didn't bother to chat anymore and called He Yan back with a sullen face.

As soon as they entered the yard, they saw Duan Xiaoying walking out in a hurry. He stopped and called out, "Teacher Duan."

Duan Xiaoying glanced at the father and son, forced a smile, nodded and left without saying a word.

He Yan raised his head and asked in confusion: "What's wrong, teacher?"

He Dongchuan slapped him on the head, pushed him gently and said, "Don't worry about it, go take a shower quickly." Then he went into the house first.

In the room, Su Ting was putting enamel cups on the dining table. When she saw the two people come in, she casually asked, "Are you back?" as if nothing had happened.

"Um."

He Dongchuan responded and pointed at his son and said, "Is there any hot water at home? He got covered in sand while playing with others and needs to wash his hair and take a bath."

"It's in the kettle," Su Ting said, then she noticed the mud and sand on He Yan's body and asked in surprise, "Are you being besieged?"

"They were hit even harder—ah!" He Yan held his head and looked at his father, "Why did you hit me?"

He Dongchuan said unhappily, "Stop talking nonsense and take a shower. Are you still so proud of yourself when you are covered in sand?"

He Yan stuck out his tongue, pouted and said "oh", then went into the bathroom to pour himself some water for a bath. After taking off his clothes, he remembered something and ran out naked and asked, "Where are my clothes?"

He Dongchuan was about to ask Su Ting what they had just talked about, but when he heard the voice, he turned around and choked up: "What are you doing running out naked?"

"Looking for clothes!" He Yan said as a matter of course:

He Dongchuan said with a sullen face: "You better get back here right now. How dare you walk around naked?"

"I'm a child." He Yan noticed his father's dark complexion and didn't dare to touch his beard anymore. He retreated into the bathroom and said, "What about my clothes?"

"I'll find it for you!" He Dongchuan said as he walked out. He went to the clothesline and took the clothes that He Yan had changed yesterday. He took her into the bathroom and closed the door.

As soon as he looked up after coming out, He Dongchuan saw Su Ting sitting on the other side of the table, smiling at him. He coughed lightly and said, "This kid deserves to be punished."

"He is still young, so just teach him well."

He Dongchuan nodded, sat down opposite Su Ting and asked, "We just happened to see Teacher Duan leaving when we came back. She didn't look very well."

Su Ting's expression faded: "Well, then what?"

"What did she talk to you about?"

"She talked to me about a lot of things, such as the code of conduct for stepmothers, how to be a good stepmother, and where I didn't do my job well in the past and how to improve," Su Ting asked with a half-smile, "Captain He, what do you want to hear about?"

He Dongchuan was not slow to react and naturally heard her weird tone. He stood up and said with a desire to survive: "What's wrong with this daughter-in-law Han? I don't think you are not doing your job well. Who does she, an outsider, have the right to point fingers? No, I have to go talk to him." As he spoke, he made a gesture to walk out.

Seeing that he was really going to go to Han's house, Su Ting's face finally melted and she shouted, "Come on, what's the point of you talking to Captain Han about this? Even if he can get Duan Xiaoying to apologize to me, it's meaningless. Besides, maybe he thinks that I'm not a good stepmother and should learn more from his wife, who is a benchmark in the industry."

He Dongchuan said seriously: "Why should you learn from his wife? I think you are pretty good. His wife should learn more from you."

Su Ting couldn't help laughing, but she didn't quite believe what He Dongchuan said.

She knew very well how she was doing as a stepmother.

It's unlikely that she would say it's bad, but she doesn't have the nerve to say it's good, so she can only say it's neither good nor bad.

Can it be better? Yes.

Want to do better? No.

She is not the original body, she was not forced to be a stepmother, nor did she voluntarily travel into the book to be a mother.

It can be said that if she had not been afraid that her original family would find out if she could only return to her original place of residence after the divorce; if she had not been concerned about the fact that He Yan was the male protagonist of Long Aotian and wanted to build a relationship with him so that she could get a financial support in the future; if she had not been thinking of giving He Dongchuan a helping hand, she would have filed for divorce long ago.

After staying, what she could and was willing to do was to take care of He Yan a little within her ability.

Ask her to be as devoted and selfless to her stepchildren as Duan Xiaoying was. Sorry, she doesn't have that kind of thinking.

But Su Ting only thought about these words in her heart and could not tell them to He Dongchuan openly. She did not want to be treated as an alien and taken away for slice cutting and research.

He Dongchuan didn't know what Su Ting was thinking. He was still thinking about what Duan Xiaoying had said. He was a little puzzled: "Why would she come to tell you this when she was fine?"

Su Ting snorted coldly: "Who knows, she is mentally ill!"

He Dongchuan: “…”

Although He Dongchuan and Su Ting had been together for a while before the mission, they were either on the train or busy with their marriage before going to the island. In addition, he had a knot in his heart, so they didn't communicate much. After going to the island, it was his busiest time. Because of Su Ting's relentless pursuit, he didn't even have time to avoid her, let alone talk to her.

The two of them really became familiar with each other after he returned from his mission.

There weren't that many things going on in the camp, and she stopped pursuing him, so the two of them were finally able to sit down and have a good chat. Although the result of the chat was that his previous perceptions of her were almost completely overturned, it also increased his understanding of her.

She is childish sometimes and can even quarrel with He Yan, a six-year-old child.

They are also flattering sometimes, and will say anything to flatter someone just for a bite of food.

He was also very vindictive. After having an argument with Wang Lixia, he never spoke to her again.

But she also had moments of maturity and rationality, and was very kind to others. Although she was unwilling to associate with Wang Lixia, she never quarreled with her on purpose, nor did she say bad things about her behind her back.

But now, she bluntly said that Duan Xiaoying was mentally ill!

From this we can see that Su Ting was really ruthless this time.

Well, he remembered.