Chapter 9: Her Responsibility

“Since that’s the case, I won’t be polite then. Uncle Liu, you can just call me Xiaoxiao,” Fu Xiaoxiao said with a warm smile. No wonder the approval came so quickly—so Lu Feng was a soldier trained by Liu Hongjun.

“Are you really going to marry him? Maybe you should think it over again?” The more Liu Hongjun looked at Fu Xiaoxiao, the more he felt sorry. He knew the conditions Lu Feng had for choosing a wife, and for a woman comrade, it was extremely unfair.

“Commander!” Lu Feng called out helplessly. “I won’t let Comrade Fu Xiaoxiao suffer any grievances!”

“Marrying you is a grievance!” Liu Hongjun shot Lu Feng a sharp look. How could he understand what the woman comrade was about to face? Did he think being a stepmother was an easy role?

“Uncle Liu, I don’t feel wronged. On the contrary, I’m grateful that Comrade Lu Feng is willing to marry me,” Fu Xiaoxiao smiled gently at Liu Hongjun and explained her situation.

“My foster mother gave my job to my younger sister and asked me to go to the countryside instead. I won’t lie—at first, I blamed myself, thinking it was something I did wrong. Now I understand that no matter how well I do, she won’t like me, because I’m not her child. Comrade Lu Feng needs someone to care for his two children, and I also need such an opportunity. Honestly, it’s not that I’m afraid of going to the countryside—I just don’t want to resign myself to such a pitiful fate.”

Fu Xiaoxiao looked Liu Hongjun in the eyes calmly and spoke her mind. “I know what marrying Comrade Lu Feng entails, but the path I choose, even if it’s wrong, I will have no regrets.”

Liu Hongjun and Lu Feng looked at Fu Xiaoxiao. Indeed, she was marrying Lu Feng to avoid going to the countryside. That reason wasn’t exactly proper, but from Fu Xiaoxiao’s perspective, sympathizing with her plight and seeking a way out was not wrong.

“You’re a thoughtful young woman. Since you’ve made up your mind, then I won’t say anything more,” Liu Hongjun said to both of them.

Hearing that Fu Xiaoxiao planned to marry within seven days and that, on the last day, she met Lu Feng and the two ended up together—it seemed this was fate.

Otherwise, these two might never have come together.

“One more thing,” Liu Hongjun said, looking at Lu Feng. Lu Feng nodded and turned to Fu Xiaoxiao seriously.

“Go ahead,” Fu Xiaoxiao waited for him to speak.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be sent on a mission with an uncertain return date,” Lu Feng said apologetically, explaining why he had taken this desperate step.

“Go without worries. I’ll take care of everything at home! I promised you I would look after the two children well,” Fu Xiaoxiao nodded firmly, patting her chest.

She understood a soldier’s duty. Since she chose to marry Lu Feng, she would shoulder this responsibility and never be a burden.

No wonder their marriage report was specially approved—it was because the mission was urgent, and he needed a ‘comrade’ to support his rear.

“You’re a good comrade,” Fu Xiaoxiao’s words touched Liu Hongjun deeply. Such a sensible child—Lu Feng had truly found a treasure this time.

“Thank you,” Lu Feng looked at Fu Xiaoxiao gratefully.

Liu Hongjun smiled lightly at Fu Xiaoxiao. “When Lu Feng returns, bring the children to my home for a meal. I’ll have your auntie cook some good dishes for you as a welcome.”

“Thank you, Uncle Liu,” Fu Xiaoxiao responded graciously.

Her openness made Liu Hongjun like her even more.

“I’ll wait for you outside,” Fu Xiaoxiao knew they had more to talk about, so she smiled and stepped out of the office to wait for Lu Feng.

After Fu Xiaoxiao left, the smile vanished from Liu Hongjun’s face. He looked at Lu Feng sternly.

“Lu Feng, by my command as your commander, you must come back alive. Crawl out from the pile of corpses if you have to! I didn’t care when you were alone, but now you have Comrade Fu Xiaoxiao and two children—that’s your responsibility!”

“Yes,” Lu Feng answered with a cold, determined gaze.

Fu Xiaoxiao waited outside for a while before Lu Feng came out. His cold expression softened when he saw her. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I didn’t wait long,” Fu Xiaoxiao smiled.

“Let’s go home.”

Lu Feng took Fu Xiaoxiao back to the family compound. Suddenly, two muddy children dashed out from the side and nearly collided with Fu Xiaoxiao. Lu Feng grabbed one child in each hand, lifting them into the air.

“Dad Lu!”

The two children struggled at first but wilted as they looked up at Lu Feng.

“How did you get so dirty?” Lu Feng’s brow furrowed deeply as he looked at the filthy children. He held back his anger out of consideration for Fu Xiaoxiao, but his low temper made the kids too guilty to meet his eyes.

“…Sorry,” the children confessed.

Fu Xiaoxiao watched as Lu Feng carried them home.

Once inside, he put them down by the well, took off their clothes, and began to pour cold water on them.

“Hey! Lu Feng!” Fu Xiaoxiao was startled and quickly stopped him.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Feng paused and looked at her.

The two children noticed the unfamiliar woman in the house. Remembering what Aunt Li said earlier, they realized this must be the ‘new mother’ Dad Lu had brought home. Aunt Li had said she would find a way to drive them out.

Thinking of this, the children’s eyes grew wary as they looked at Fu Xiaoxiao.

“It’s already autumn; you should mix some hot water…” Fu Xiaoxiao said helplessly. If he used cold water now, the wind would surely cause the children to catch a cold.

“They’re used to it,” Lu Feng shook his head. The three of them usually bathed this way.

The chill in the air made Fu Xiaoxiao shiver as she looked at the kids, disapprovingly glancing at Lu Feng.

“I’ll heat some water.”

Seeing Fu Xiaoxiao head to the kitchen to boil water, Lu Feng turned to the two children and asked, “Are you cold?”

“Dad Lu, we’re not cold at all,” the children looked up at Lu Feng, trying to convince him they weren’t cold. But the two streams of snot running from their noses made Lu Feng silently put down the water scoop.

“This is your new mother. Her name is Fu Xiaoxiao, and she’ll take care of you from now on. Aunt Li won’t come anymore,” Lu Feng said as he draped clothes over them.

“Okay,” the children nodded obediently, seemingly accepting Fu Xiaoxiao’s presence.

Fu Xiaoxiao entered the kitchen. The stove and pots were cold, showing no sign of having been used today. So what did Aunt Li feed the children?

She ladled water from the barrel into a pot and lit the stove to boil water. Then she looked around the kitchen. The cabinet held quite a bit of rice, flour, and oil, but seasoning was limited to salt and sugar.

Looks like a big shopping trip is needed tomorrow—there are quite a few things missing!

“Is the water boiled?” Lu Feng entered the kitchen and saw Fu Xiaoxiao frowning as she looked into the cabinet. “Are we missing something?”

“The water’s ready,” Fu Xiaoxiao pointed to the pot, indicating the water was boiled. “There are quite a few things missing, but what I really want to ask is—do you know what Aunt Li fed them at noon? When I came in, the stove and pots were cold. It didn’t look like anything had been cooked.”

Lu Feng was taken aback; he had never asked about this before.

Fu Xiaoxiao saw his reaction and knew he had never inquired.