CHAPTER 409: CHAPTER 409: FATHER AND SON FIGHT FOR TERRITORY

"Back already? It’s pouring outside, did you get wet?" Xu Xiuxiu’s voice was very soft, bringing a sense of calm to the bedroom.

"No." As Song Yuanhuan removed his military coat, he looked at Xu Xiuxiu, "Why aren’t you asleep yet?" Xu Xiuxiu kept a very regular schedule; she would usually be asleep by the time he got home at ten o’clock, but tonight, with the thunder and lightning outside, she was unexpectedly awake. He wondered whether she was frightened, though it wasn’t unusual for her to be up since she was a light sleeper. Even the slightest noise could wake her up, and he always took care to be very quiet when getting up so as not to disturb her.

"The thunder and rain outside scared Little Moon, so I held him and brought him back to sleep with me." Xu Xiuxiu answered, her eyes softening as she looked at the sleeping Little Moon beside her, "I just lulled him to sleep a little while ago, and the little one broke out in quite a cold sweat." This thought made Xu Xiuxiu’s heart ache; she felt she wasn’t a very competent mother.

Since Little Moon was small and didn’t take up much space in the bed, Xu Xiuxiu had adjusted their positions when Song Yuanhuan entered the room, so he hadn’t noticed Little Moon’s presence until now. Upon closer inspection and discovering the presence of Little Moon in the bed, Song Yuanhuan was somewhat displeased, "He’s a boy; he can’t be too timid. You should explain to him properly, thunder and rain are just natural phenomena, what’s there to be afraid of?"

"..." Xu Xiuxiu was speechless and rolled her eyes: "He’s still young!" Her protective instinct for Little Moon was clear.

After all, many people know that thunder and rain are natural phenomena, but the sound of thunder can still be alarming even to an adult, how could you expect a child under three years old to understand these natural phenomena and not be afraid? This was just ridiculous!

"He’s not young anymore," he said seriously.

"Stop using your military roughness on your son! Song Yuanhuan, Little Moon isn’t even three years old yet, he’s so little! You’re so strict with such a young child. If Little Baby were scared of the thunder, would you dismiss her fears as merely natural phenomena? You’d probably be worried sick," Xu Xiuxiu couldn’t stand how Song Yuanhuan doted on his precious daughter yet seemed indifferent towards his son, the disparity was just too much.

"Our daughter certainly isn’t that timid," Song Yuanhuan replied quietly.

"What do you mean by that? Are you intentionally picking a fight with me, trying to make trouble on purpose?" Xu Xiuxiu glared at him angrily.

She was already filled with guilt towards Little Moon today, and seeing Song Yuanhuan’s attitude only made her anger flare up even more!

"Alright, alright, my fault, okay?" Song Yuanhuan immediately surrendered to accommodate his wife but his deep eyes glanced at the little bulge next to Xu Xiuxiu.

"Hmph." Xu Xiuxiu hummed with satisfaction, then turned her head back to look at Little Moon, who was still sleeping soundly. She gently stroked his soft and chubby cheeks.

"I’m going to take a shower; you will take Little Moon back to his own room to sleep later," Song Yuanhuan said, walking out of the bedroom, assertively defending his territory of the bed with no intention of giving Xu Xiuxiu a chance to retort. Since he had even refused Little Baby’s previous requests to sleep with him, Xu Xiuxiu wasn’t surprised at all by his intent to return Little Moon to his own bedroom.

But she couldn’t bear to do it!

Little Moon was sound asleep at this moment, yet her little hand clung tightly to the corner of her pajamas, a clear sign of her insecurity. Thinking of this, Xu Xiuxiu simply ignored what Song Yuanhuan had said and lay down, wrapping her arms around Little Moon and closing her eyes. Perhaps due to the routine of her physiological clock, she barely closed her eyes for a moment before she truly fell asleep with Little Moon in her embrace.

When Song Yuanhuan returned from his shower, what he saw was the naive sleeping pair of mother and son, which softened his heart for a moment. Then, he discarded the towel he was using to dry his hair to one side, bent down, and carefully lifted Little Moon from Xu Xiuxiu’s arms without a sound. He was just about to successfully carry Little Moon out of the bedroom when a loud clap of thunder struck outside.

With a rumble, Little Moon, held in Song Yuanhuan’s arms, shivered. Her little hand instinctively reached for Xu Xiuxiu’s pajama corner but grabbed only air. In an instant, Little Moon woke up, then broke down emotionally, crying out loudly.

"Mama..." The cry was heart-wrenching.

Song Yuanhuan had rarely carried Little Moon since she learned to walk, having carried her occasionally only when she was too young to walk. But since Little Moon had started toddling about on her stubby little legs, Song Yuanhuan had not held her, always carrying Little Baby instead. Little Moon was not accustomed to his embrace, and combined with the thunderous weather making her unsettled, her crying now was clearly due to fright.

"Ah! Mama’s here! Mama’s here!" Xu Xiuxiu, who had just dozed off, was also startled awake by Little Moon’s crying. Reaching out to pull Little Baby to her, she grasped at empty air instead and scanned the bedroom anxiously. Then she sprang from the bed barefoot and rushed over to Song Yuanhuan, emphatically snatching Little Moon from Song Yuanhuan’s rigid embrace.

"Song Yuanhuan, what are you doing making Little Moon cry in the middle of the night? You scared her!" Xu Xiuxiu was both anxious and angry as she drew Little Moon into her arms, glaring at Song Yuanhuan, the instigator, with her beautiful, annoyed eyes.

"Mama, I’m scared... waah." Little Moon hadn’t yet recovered from her panic, but as soon as she was back in Xu Xiuxiu’s arms, the little tyke clutched Xu Xiuxiu’s pajamas tightly and rubbed her tear-stained face against Xu Xiuxiu’s neck.

"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid! Mama’s here!" Xu Xiuxiu gently patted Little Moon’s back, and her heart nearly shattered at the sight of the little one burying his face into her shoulder, sobbing and hiccupping.

"Mmm..." While his emotions slowly stabilized, he remained very uneasy.

Xu Xiuxiu held Little Moon for quite a while, soothing him until he stopped shedding tears, then held on to Xu Xiuxiu, unwilling to let go in the slightest.

"The floor is cold; put on some shoes." Song Yuanhuan bent down to pick up a pair of slippers from beside the bed and instructed Xu Xiuxiu to wear them. He looked up, intending to take Little Moon: "I’ll carry him to sleep in his own room." Song Yuanhuan, watching Little Moon cry in Xu Xiuxiu’s arms for so long, knew that his younger son had stabilized emotionally and so he began to play the villain again.

"No." Little Moon, with a voice full of grievance and pitiful refusal after crying, said: "Little Moon wants to sleep with Mama." After saying this, he hugged Xu Xiuxiu’s neck tighter, worried, then decisively planned to turn his little bottom toward Song Yuanhuan.

"..." Seeing this, Song Yuanhuan’s face darkened. Sons are just trouble and debt collectors.