CHAPTER 386: CHAPTER 386: PUNISHING FATHER AND SON

"To tell the truth, Xu Xiuxiu really didn’t want to make a big deal out of something small. It was fairly normal for kids like Song Chengguang and Shi Yu to have the spirit to settle scores and fight. Everyone gets that, and once the fight was over, as long as the parents talked it over peacefully, everything would be fine. But the problem was that Song Chengguang had also taken Little Huang with him, and a few of the children were scared by Little Huang. Even though Little Huang didn’t bite anyone, it was still a serious matter, and Little Huang was injured too. Its leg was obviously in a bad state when it returned home. Song Chengguang, having gotten into a scrap himself and worried about facing a scolding at home, was thinking up ways to deal with Xu Xiuxiu’s anger all the way home—hardly having any mind left to care for Little Huang.

"Darling, don’t rush, just calm down and sit for a moment," Song Yuanhuan saw that Xu Xiuxiu was truly furious and swiftly reassured her with a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"You handle it? Every time you say you’ll handle it! You think I don’t know? You father and son are always in cahoots, colluding to fool me. Don’t think I’m unaware," Xu Xiuxiu angrily turned her head to glare at Song Yuanhuan. "It’s the bad habits you’ve spoilt him with by handling things over and over again."

Faced with Xu Xiuxiu’s accusations, Song Yuanhuan could only guiltily touch his nose and show a somewhat innocent expression, then looked down at Song Chengguang and gave his son a look that said today dad couldn’t help, and you’re on your own.

"Song Chengguang, you go to the corner and reflect on your actions now, and don’t you stop until I say so," Xu Xiuxiu demanded with a glare.

"Understood, Mom," even though the corner of his mouth was slightly split from the fight and hurt dully, he had known all the way home that he was in trouble for fighting and couldn’t escape punishment, so he compliantly followed Xu Xiuxiu’s orders without resistance.

"Song Yuanhuan, you go stand as well," after Song Chengguang obediently positioned himself in a corner of the living room, Xu Xiuxiu turned to make her demands on Song Yuanhuan.

"Darling," Song Yuanhuan tried to plead his case with a twist of his lips.

"You father and son are close, right? Go on, stand side by side, no talking, until I’m satisfied," Xu Xiuxiu was truly very angry. Ever since moving to Imperial City, she didn’t understand how this father and son duo always got mixed up in trouble, with Song Yuanhuan often surreptitiously helping Song Chengguang get off the hook.

Once or twice could be overlooked, but with repeated offenses, Xu Xiuxiu really couldn’t stand it anymore. She decided to punish Song Yuanhuan as well!

"Darling, I was just about to help you discipline this brat," Song Yuanhuan tried to struggle at his wit’s end.

"Hmm?" Xu Xiuxiu raised an eyebrow and looked sternly at Song Yuanhuan.

"I’ll go stand as a punishment, darling, please calm down," Song Yuanhuan promptly stood next to Song Chengguang, occasionally glancing at his son with a look of injustice.

In fact, he had not repeatedly gotten Song Chengguang off the hook. As a man, he totally understood the mischief and rascality of a boy Song Chengguang’s age. Generally, as long as Song Chengguang had a good reason for a fight and didn’t lose, he felt as a father he should be happy and proud. Boys will be boys! It’s not like they’re little girls to be coddled. A good roughhouse should help them grow up, right? But he hadn’t expected that it would upset his wife."

Xu Xiuxiu watched the father and son facing the wall in the most endearing height disparity and took a deep breath to steady her emotions. Then she bent down to pick up Little Huang, who was sitting in the living room, to apply medicine to its injuries. Fortunately, Little Huang wasn’t badly hurt. Xiuxiu quietly fed Little Huang a pink fruit from her space and after applying medicine, bandaging its leg wound, she went into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.

To be honest, these days she was incredibly busy, especially since the boy and girl twins had begun to speak and learn to walk. Her back felt like it was about to break. The lively children made teaching them to walk downright exhausting. And if that wasn’t enough, Song Yuanhuan and his son Song Chengguang always seemed to join forces to give her a hard time every couple of days, and the anger in her chest was about to explode.

No, today she would have to punish the father and son duo properly.

Once Xiuxiu made up her mind to properly deal with them, she calmly prepared breakfast. Then, she sat down at the table to leisurely fill her stomach. Only after hearing the twins calling for their mother from the bedroom did she put down her chopsticks, go into the room to dress the twins, and bring them out for face washing and breakfast.

"Daddy..." Little Baby stretched out his chubby little hands, his mouth filled with a spoonful of the soft, mushy white porridge Xiuxiu had cooked.

"Brother..." Little Moon then pointed to Song Chengguang’s silhouette and asked.

The twins didn’t speak much yet, but words like "daddy" and "brother" were already very clear. They sat at the table, quietly letting Xu Xiuxiu feed them, and while eating, pointed at the figures of Song Yuanhuan and Song Chengguang with puzzled expressions.

"They’re playing with you!" said Xu Xiuxiu in an unconcerned tone as she gently soothed the twins.

The mention of playing! Clearly, the twins understood and immediately giggled. "You need to eat properly, okay? If you don’t behave, I’ll punish you too," Xiuxiu joked as she alternately spoon-fed a mouthful of white porridge to each sibling.

Relative to other children, the twins were actually quite a relief to take care of, even during meal times. They didn’t require Xu Xiuxiu to put much effort into coaxing them. With no comparison, there was no hurt, and Xu Xiuxiu felt that Song Chengguang had been much more of a handful when he was their age. Of course, as they grew older, they became more of a handful. She could only hope that these two would be better behaved in the future.

This morning, Song Chengguang had gone out to fight, and his stomach had been growling loudly for a while now. Xu Xiuxiu knew Song Chengguang’s situation very well—he was always punctual with his meals. Just this morning, she had been lazy and breakfast had been later than usual, and now with the punishment of standing, he was probably starving.

Xiuxiu struggled to remind herself to be stern, and only after feeding the twins and putting them on the living room carpet with a couple of toys did she adjust her emotions and approach Song Chengguang. "Song Chengguang, turn around and look at mom."

"Mom," Song Chengguang obediently turned, his innocent, dark eyes locked onto Xu Xiuxiu.

Looking intently at Song Chengguang and seeing the bruised corner of his mouth, Xu Xiuxiu’s heart twisted with reluctance. "Do you know where you went wrong? Are you going to fight again next time?" Her tone was gentle but carried a serious undertone.