I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 102 - 101: Trouble Arises Again

After snorting disdainfully, Xu Qingqing opened her mouth to ease Xu Xiuxiu’s mind, "Just ignore her, you know what she’s like: all pie in the sky but with a life as fragile as paper. She sure has a big appetite, thinking you’d help her open a restaurant. How can she have the cheek to ask for something that’s not just pocket change?" Xu Qingqing immediately frowned upon seeing Xu Xiuxiu nod in agreement, "Mom and dad too, I can’t believe they actually went along with it. You must have been so pissed off that day!" Xu Qingqing looked at Xu Xiuxiu with a tease in her eyes.

Today, as soon as she arrived back home, her mom had pulled her into the kitchen to pick over the food and share the news, hoping she, as an older sister, would help smooth things over at the dinner table. She also didn’t want Xu Qingqing to be caught off guard and unable to join the conversation, which is why she had spilled the beans about what had happened the day before yesterday.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingqing felt that her oldest sister, Xu Fangfang, had handled the situation quite dishonestly. Thinking back to how not long ago Xu Fangfang had been all over her place prying about their younger sister Xiuxiu, she realized Xu Fangfang had this in mind all along! She felt a twinge of guilt towards Xu Xiuxiu, as she had intended to irk Xu Fangfang at the time, but she hadn’t expected Xu Fangfang could be so nettlesome.

"It wasn’t too bad," Xu Xiuxiu shrugged nonchalantly.

Xu Qingqing gave her a sideways smirk, as if to mock Xu Xiuxiu for being insincere, yet wisely chose not to dwell on the topic.

Outside, Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu saw that all four daughters and their sons-in-law had arrived. The men who were related by marriage started chatting in the living room, while Cai Tou was teaching Song Chengguang how to play leapfrog at the doorstep of the main room. The two children laughed heartily as they took turns jumping, clearly enjoying themselves.

Doudou, being a bit older than her two little brothers, seemingly didn’t take much interest in playing with them. Despite her high-and-mighty attitude, not engaging with them even when called, her eyes betrayed a hint of envy towards the green metal frog. She grumpily played with a little twig on the floor, pretending to drive her own little train.

Mrs. Xu hauled the oldest daughter and the fourth daughter, who was trying to slack off, into the kitchen. Her intention to have them work together was blatant. Originally, Mrs. Xu had hoped to use the opportunity to ease the tension between the oldest and the third daughters and to clear the air, but with all four daughters busy stuffing dumplings, no one seemed inclined to talk.

Seeing this, Mrs. Xu glanced at the oldest daughter’s disapproving look and then at the fourth daughter, who was showing off an ugly dumpling to her third sister, and finally let out a resigned sigh. Her children were all grown up; you can’t control your kids forever, she thought. It seemed her role as a mother had reached its limits.

The lunch on the second day of the new year wasn’t exactly heartwarming, but still, it was harmonious. The hostile atmosphere from the recent argument, where they had fiercely shredded any pretense, had subsided. Although no one was in a rush to patch things up completely, everyone maintained a polite demeanor.

Xu Fangfang and Xu Xiuxiu still weren’t interacting much, but the rest were behaving normally. Moreover, today marked a significant family reunion for the Xu Family’s New Year celebration, and nobody wanted to stir up trouble and ruin the occasion.

After the meal, Cai Tou and Song Chengguang eagerly resumed their leapfrog game, quickly gobbling up lunch before dashing off to play some more. Seeing this, neither Xu Xiuxiu nor Xu Qingqing tried to stop them, sharing the sentiment of indulging the children a little during the festive season.

Doudou sat steadily on the table, only getting down after eating his fill. He picked up the same stick and began waving it around at the entrance of the main room. Seeing his two younger brothers huddled together, hopping like frogs and chatting away, his curiosity got the better of him but he was too shy to approach. So, he waved the stick with even more vigor.

"Ah!" A scream broke out.

Those at the dining table hadn’t left yet when the wails of a child echoed from the main room. Cai Tou sat on the floor with a thud, and Song Chengguang, with his wide eyes, looked at his older brother. Then, noticing the red mark scratched by the stick on his brother’s face, he pouted his tiny mouth and burst into loud tears.

Perhaps because Zhao Nan’s face had been injured before, the little one was particularly sensitive to anything happening to his face. "Mommy!" Song Chengguang cried out as if his life depended on it, not even knowing how to stand up and walk on his legs. He sprawled his hands directly on the floor and started crawling towards the dining table area.

Upon hearing the crying, Xu Xiuxiu tossed her chopsticks aside without a second thought and rushed to Song Chengguang’s side. She picked up the little one, frantically checking him over, but thankfully, he was just scared and crying, nothing serious had happened.

Xu Qingqing, who sat next to Xu Xiuxiu, also quickly went over to her own son. That’s the shared heart of a mother toward her child. As Xu Qingqing held her son, she saw a red scratch under his eye. Although it wasn’t severe, it was frighteningly close to the eye!

Xu Xiuxiu’s attention shifted from Song Chengguang and she caught sight of the scratch on Cai Tou’s face, sharply inhaling a breath of cold air. Her gaze instinctively turned towards Doudou, who stood there, stunned. She had a sinking feeling in her heart, thinking how careless Doudou could be!

Xu Qingqing’s heart clenched as she looked at her son’s cheated face. "Cai Tou, don’t cry, tell Mommy what happened." She leaned in, her red lips blowing gently against her son’s face, hoping to stop his crying, feeling heartbroken.

"Big brother poked me in the face with a stick," Cai Tou said through tears, pointing at Doudou with his little hand, his voice filled with grievance.

"Doudou, what happened? How could you possibly poke your brother in the face with a stick? That was so close to his eye!" Xu Qingqing’s eyes darted toward Doudou, who was still standing there, dazed. Seeing a stick lying next to Doudou’s feet, she grew angry and raised her voice as she questioned him.

Xu Fangfang was slower to act but she now protected Doudou in her arms. Seeing Xu Qingqing ask her son in such a loud voice, her face darkened and she seemed displeased. "I didn’t do it on purpose," Doudou said, his voice filled with hurt, and then he buried his head in Xu Fangfang’s stomach.

"Second sister, you heard Doudou, he didn’t do it on purpose. Don’t get too angry. Accidents like these are common when kids play! The scratch on Cai Tou’s face isn’t serious, don’t scare my Doudou with your yelling." Xu Fangfang’s protective stance for her son was overly apparent. Even though she knew it was her son’s fault, seeing that Cai Tou only had a scratch, which would heal with some ointment in five or six days, she didn’t think it was a big deal.

Xu Qingqing did not agree. A scratch slightly higher and her son could have been blinded. How could she remain calm given the circumstances? Moreover, it was during the New Year’s celebrations, and any injury, no matter how minor, was considered a very bad omen.