I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 39 - 38: Encountering an Elder Playing the Age Card

"These two clearly acted as if taking over someone else's nest was their absolute right."

"The child really is embarrassed! My old lady and I are heading to our son's place in Z Province, but we couldn't get seated tickets, so we've been standing since leaving Huanggang County. Your Auntie is getting on in years and is having a hard time standing for so long. Seeing that you were leaving, we thought to borrow your seats for a bit—truly sorry about that, I'll give your seats back to you right away!" The old man sitting in Xu Xiuxiu's seat had a placating smile, though his body didn't move an inch from the seat as he spoke such polite words.

Was he waiting for Xu Xiuxiu and Song Yuanhuan to show their respect for the elderly and tell him it was okay for him to sit? Clearly, the old man's superficial acts were inadequate, giving off a sense of insincerity instead.

Xiuxiu frowned as she thought about it, her mood suddenly turning sour. She had a strong dislike for these older people who use their age as an excuse.

"It's indeed not easy for you elders. We have two seats here and could give one to you; I'm a young man, and standing for a bit is nothing to me, but my wife isn't in good health and is with a child too. Could you and your wife squeeze into one seat? Auntie could sit with you," said Song Yuanhuan, a soldier. Accustomed to respecting the old and loving the young, he wasn't bothered by these shameless elders—but he did feel for Xiuxiu, who had been retching in the restroom.

"That seat is so small, it can't fit three people," snapped the old woman occupying Song Yuanhuan's seat, her voice laced with distaste.

Xiuxiu's face darkened as she looked at the old woman. It was clear that the old lady was the type of person Xiuxiu instinctively rejected just by hearing her voice, without needing any other outside factor to intensify the revulsion. And looking at her face, which was painted with false benevolence, Xiuxiu's dislike grew even stronger.

"Auntie, these seats were originally ours. We're being courteous to offer one to you. If you think squeezing three people into two seats is really uncomfortable, then you can choose to continue standing all the way to Z Province. After all, you bought standing tickets, and we are under no obligation to sacrifice for your tickets. Moreover, one seat was given up by my husband out of kindness for you two elders. While you complain about it being crowded, you should also ask if the old man is willing to squeeze together with you both," Xiuxiu said, looking at the old man who previously had a strange odor about him with an inquiring gaze.

"It's fine, it's fine; we can squeeze in," the old man quickly waved and laughed, displaying no impatience in his tone, which showed he was an extraordinarily good-tempered elder.

"Well, Auntie, could you move over a bit? It's difficult for me with the child," Xiuxiu turned and took the sleepy Song Chengguang from Song Yuanhuan's arms and asked the old woman.

Xiuxiu's blunt inquiry was quite disrespectful, which made the old woman's face fall for a moment. She then moved over to the opposite direction very unwillingly. Seeing this, Xiuxiu sat down with the child, while Song Yuanhuan stood up straight next to her, his large hand gripping the train's overhead rail.

The train returned to silence. As noon approached and the drowsiness of early autumn set in, many passengers began to doze off. The old man and woman who squeezed in across from Xiuxiu were quite lively, though, still occasionally glaring at her with their eyes. Xiuxiu, with nothing much to say, closed her eyes and chose to ignore them.

"Tired? Do you want to sit for a while?" asked Song Yuanhuan, who had been standing for a full two hours, and Xiuxiu felt sorry for him.

"Not tired, you sit tight," Song Yuanhuan assured, indicating that he didn't even consider the fatigue worth mentioning.

Xu Xiuxiu, seeing this, fell silent. The train continued chugging towards Z province, growing closer with each passing moment. By evening, the train slowly rolled into the station, and Song Yuanhuan reached out to take little Song Yuanhuan from Xu Xiuxiu's arms, carefully guiding her off the train.

Arriving home dusty and weary, night had already fallen. Xu Xiuxiu busied herself in the kitchen, rustling up a bowl of noodle soup for dinner.

Early that night, Xu Xiuxiu neatly prepared the bed for sleep. After Yuanhuan finished his ablutions, water dripping off him, he appeared in the main house. Song Chengguang had already been sent to sleep in the next room, something about becoming independent; Xu Xiuxiu's protests were to no avail. Now, as Yuanhuan entered the room, Xu Xiuxiu suddenly felt nervous.

"Sichuan Pavilion is reopening the day after tomorrow, and I need to get up early tomorrow to arrange things at the shop, so I'll go to sleep first." Without waiting for Yuanhuan's response, Xu Xiuxiu climbed into bed, pulled the thin cover over her, tightly wrapping herself up, then stiffly turned her body to face the wall.

"Okay." Yuanhuan, who stood by the bed wiping himself off, kept his gaze fixed on Xu Xiuxiu's back for a long while before tossing aside the towel and briskly climbing into bed.

Xu Xiuxiu clenched her eyes shut. When she sensed Yuanhuan's breath drawing near, her body immediately tensed up, her heart pounding as if it were beating a drum. No matter what, Xu Xiuxiu always felt that she was not the real wife, and after the past few months of small interactions with Yuanhuan, she knew that he was a rare good man. Yet she wished only to continue their relationship as it had always been, nothing more.

Though sometimes she did think about a harmonious marital life, feeling that as husband and wife, intimacy was inevitable, Yuanhuan ultimately spent more time stationed with the troops. When he occasionally came home on leave, their time together was always punctuated with the presence of Song Chen, the little lightbulb, so Xu Xiuxiu hadn't really minded their few shared nights in the same bed.

But tonight, Yuanhuan had insisted that Song Chen sleep alone, and despite the little guy's loud protests, he had been firmly overpowered. Now with just the two of them lying on the bed, Xu Xiuxiu was so nervous she could barely admit it; a mere turn could make her bump into his body.

Xu Xiuxiu's nervousness and restlessness seemed to completely escape Yuanhuan's notice. He lay quietly on the bed, pulled a corner of the thin blanket over himself, and fell straight to sleep, soon letting out steady breaths, clearly fast asleep.

Xu Xiuxiu's heart that had been tense all evening finally sank to the ground.

Initially, her mind was filled with chaotic thoughts. After all, it would have been natural and expected for Yuanhuan to want to have some kind of relation with her—she was his wife, and it was unheard of for a man not to touch his bride for months. Xu Xiuxiu was even prepared for the worst. If Yuanhuan touched her, she was ready to confess everything to him.

But she realized that it was all just her own wishful thinking. Yuanhuan simply didn't harbor any such intentions; it was all her own fanciful notions.

Upon this realization, Xu Xiuxiu didn't know whether to feel relieved or sad. Relieved by Yuanhuan's gentlemanliness and yet saddened by her own lack of allure. As a married couple, to lie on the same bed without any spark of passion was utterly disheartening.

But no matter what, Xu Xiuxiu ultimately breathed a sigh of relief. Gradually, her thoughts relaxed, and her eyelids grew heavy. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.

Xu Xiuxiu's inner turmoil battled for a good while before she finally succumbed to sleep, but Yuanhuan, who had been sleeping soundly beside her, slowly opened his clear eyes. Turning his head, he fixed his dark pupils on her unprotected, softly sleeping face and let out a silent sigh. He carefully drew the sleeping person into his embrace, not relaxing until he could fully feel her delicate form against him, and with a satisfied sigh, he too fell asleep.

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