CHAPTER 327: CHAPTER 327: HURRY TO THE IMPERIAL CITY

"Inexplicable." Song Yuantao, his thoughts accurately pinpointed, saw Wang Qinghua’s harsh face and felt dispirited all of a sudden.

"Nobody’s fooling me, Song Yuantao..." Wang Qinghua continued to curse. The child was unusually quiet that evening, but the couple kept verbally sparring, and the Song Family couldn’t find peace.

Father Song and Mrs. Song heard the squabble from their room, both helplessly sighed, "What a disaster!" Mrs. Song shook her head, turned over, and fell asleep.

When Song Yuantao and his wife had stopped arguing, Little Wanwan, just over a month old, woke up crying two hours after falling asleep. What followed was diaper changes, breastfeeding, and all sorts of comforting tricks, yet the baby continued to cry nonstop. The commotion lasted all night.

As dawn broke, everyone in the Song Family got up, and the baby, after crying throughout the night, finally had a moment of peace.

The family casually had breakfast. Mrs. Song, holding her little granddaughter, went to the county hospital accompanied by Song Yuantao. Wang Qinghua, still in her confinement period and feeling pity for her daughter but more so for herself, stayed behind.

The county hospital wasn’t crowded this time, but a series of examinations still took some time. Blood and urine tests required a long wait as well. The doctor prescribed some calming medicine suitable for children and then let Mrs. Song and Song Yuantao take the baby home, telling them to come back in a couple of days for the test results.

...

It was a rare, sunny weekend morning, and Xu Xiuxiu, who usually went to Soup City, took Song Chengguang and the twins to a nearby park for a walk. It had been a while since Song Chengguang had played outside with Xu Xiuxiu, so he was quite happy. The boy and girl twins were lively as well; both sitting in the twin baby stroller, although it was tough for Xu Xiuxiu to push, it was indeed a tranquil scene for onlookers.

"Chengguang, have you finished your rice crisps?" Occasionally, Xu Xiuxiu allowed Song Chengguang the treat of a snack, and every time he treasured it greatly. Xu Xiuxiu watched her eldest son—walking beside the baby stroller, clutching a small bag of rice crisps and munching away like a little mouse—her smile lingering.

"Mom, Chengguang is almost done," Song Chengguang said unclearly, continuously stuffing rice crisps into his mouth.

"Eat slowly," Xu Xiuxiu cautioned, seeing how he rushed through his snack.

Song Chengguang looked up at Xu Xiuxiu with a smile, his little hands still busily moving crisps to his mouth.

"Mom... ah!" The twins in the stroller were excited, yet when they saw Chengguang eating alone and especially enjoying himself, Little Moon and Little Baby grew restless.

"Mom, brother and sister want to eat too," Song Chengguang paused, hesitantly looking at Little Moon and Little Baby as he asked, "Can I give brother and sister a taste?" Holding the rice crisps, he looked conflictedly at Xu Xiuxiu.

"They can’t eat." The boy and girl twins, with their drooling cute little faces, looked pitiable. "Hurry up and finish eating so you won’t tempt your little brother and sister anymore." Xu Xiuxiu reminded Song Chengguang with a smile.

Song Chengguang chuckled and quickly finished all the rice noodles he had, stuffing his little mouth full, puffing up like a little hamster.

"Let’s go! We need to call your dad." After watching Song Chengguang finish the noodles, Xu Xiuxiu took out a cotton handkerchief to wipe his hands, then leisurely started pushing the stroller from the park toward Sichuan Pavilion’s flagship store. "Chengguang, do you miss Daddy?"

"Yes, Chengguang misses Daddy! Mommy, let me help you push the stroller, so we can quickly go and call Daddy." Song Chengguang, having finished his rice noodles and in a great mood, eagerly offered to help Xu Xiuxiu push the stroller, his words showing his impatience.

"Chengguang is such a good boy." Xu Xiuxiu gazed downward, generously praising her son.

After over a month of adjusting, Song Yuanhuan had settled into the Imperial Military Academy, with a full schedule of academic commitments. After completing his required coursework, he would find time to call Xu Xiuxiu, as the couple had agreed to call each other several times a week.

Today, however, Xu Xiuxiu was concerned that the children hadn’t seen Song Yuanhuan for a month or two and might forget him, so she planned to have the children join her in calling Song Yuanhuan. Even if there wasn’t much interesting to talk about over the phone, at least it would help them remember their father’s voice.

Xu Xiuxiu and the children had just reached Sichuan Pavilion’s small office when, within less than five minutes, the office phone rang. As expected, it was Song Yuanhuan calling from the Imperial City. After exchanging a few pleasantries with her husband, because the children were present, Xu Xiuxiu refrained from expressing any affectionate words. However, every time Song Yuanhuan said "I miss you" over the phone, it made Xu Xiuxiu’s cheeks flush and her bones go soft.

"Daddy, Chengguang, along with his little brother and sister, are calling you! Do you miss Chengguang?" After the couple had finished talking, Xu Xiuxiu held Song Chengguang in her arms. The little guy, now accustomed to the magic of the telephone, chattered away into the receiver, completely unlike his usual quiet self at daycare.

"Of course, Daddy misses you. Chengguang, you also need to be good and miss Daddy. Listen to Mommy at home, so she can bring you to see Daddy sooner, alright?" Song Yuanhuan unabashedly coaxed his elder son over the phone, his aim to have Xu Xiuxiu visit him in Imperial City quickly because his longing for her was becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

Life at the military academy was dull, and due to his leg injury, he had very limited time for physical training. In the deep silence of the night, lying in bed, Song Yuanhuan found himself missing his wife and children terribly.

"Okay, Daddy, Chengguang will be very good," Song Chengguang readily agreed.

Father and son chatted further, typically men of few words, but in front of the phone, it seemed as if they were unleashing all the words they had stored up daily. Just before hanging up, Song Yuanhuan poured out his feelings once more, "Xiuxiu, you must come to Imperial City soon."

Each time Xu Xiuxiu hung up the phone, she had to reassure him with many promises, only then would Song Yuanhuan hang up the phone, satisfied. The couple’s tacit understanding and little sweet moments were truly enviable.

After finishing the call with Song Yuanhuan, Xu Xiuxiu, seeing it was still early, called her parents back home to check on them. Everyone was doing fine, and Xu Qingqing was recovering well postpartum, which reassured Xu Xiuxiu. Then she made another call to Song Family Village. However, when Mrs. Song took the call and shared the recent events of the Song Family, Xu Xiuxiu was shocked by the news relayed over the phone.

Diabetes. Wang Qinghua’s little baby girl, not even two months old, had been diagnosed with diabetes, and the situation was quite serious.