CHAPTER 342: CHAPTER 342: ACTUALLY CRYING

"Stop kissing up! Your little aunt isn’t buying what you’re selling." Song Chengguang said that his aunt was the best in the world only because he had argued with Xu Xiuxiu, otherwise, the ’best in the world’ in his mouth would definitely be his mom Xu Xiuxiu.

"Auntie..." Song Chengguang tugged at Xu Jingjing’s sleeve with a look of displeasure after being found out.

"Go! Your aunt is sleepy; I need to sleep. You’ve eaten your fill, so go back to looking at the scenery outside!" Xu Jingjing pretended to despise him and shooed him to look at the landscape outside.

Song Chengguang knew that since he had argued with his mom, he definitely had to cling to Xu Jingjing’s ’thick thigh.’ This little guy had been very clever and quick-witted since he started to walk, and naturally, he wouldn’t pass up this great opportunity to butter up his dear little aunt, "Auntie, Chengguang will stay with you while you sleep. I won’t look outside anymore; looking out the window makes me dizzy." Song Chengguang pouted and then wriggled into Xu Jingjing’s sleeping berth.

Dizzy? Pfft! Xu Xiuxiu, leaning against the sleeping berth’s railing, couldn’t help but smile when she heard what her son said.

"Alright then! Chengguang will stay and sleep with auntie." Xu Jingjing decided not to tease Chengguang further, stretched her hand to pull up the thin quilt to cover them both, and hugged Song Chengguang, intending to sleep for a while. After all, the train would not reach Imperial City until it was nearly dawn, "Sis, I’ll take a nap first and then we can swap later."

On the train, two women with three children, despite the long journey, could not all be asleep at the same time, lest some trafficker takes a child away without them noticing. Such incidents had happened before, so Xu Jingjing and Xu Xiuxiu were especially cautious. They had agreed to alternate between one staying awake and the other sleeping.

"Mm, you sleep first; I’ll call you if I feel sleepy." Xu Xiuxiu nodded.

After receiving Xu Xiuxiu’s response, Xu Jingjing closed her eyes in peace. Perhaps because of the early start and the hassle of traveling, not long after, both the aunt and nephew fell sound asleep, with Song Chengguang still smacking his little mouth occasionally.

Xu Xiuxiu wasn’t sleepy. She sometimes looked at the scenery passing by the train, sometimes at the twins’ sleeping positions, adjusting their postures and quilt.

By the time the train eventually reached Imperial City Station, it was 8 in the morning the next day. After sitting on the train for over twenty hours, Xu Xiuxiu experienced for the first time the ordeal of a long-distance train ride. Getting ready to disembark, she felt a sense of relief, as if she had gone from hell to heaven; she felt energized by the mere thought of not having to take a train anymore.

Since Xu Xiuxiu had spoken to Song Yuanhuan on the phone and confirmed the time, she knew Song Yuanhuan would be at the station to pick them up. She asked Xu Jingjing to carry Little Moon off the train first, while she stayed behind with Little Baby and Song Chengguang, waiting for Song Yuanhuan to come up and help with the luggage. Since the train was at its final stop, Xu Xiuxiu wasn’t in a hurry to get off.

However, although Xu Xiuxiu and Xu Jingjing had agreed on a plan, Song Chengguang suddenly became unhappy and decided to get off the train first with Xu Jingjing. Clearly, the little guy was still upset and did not want to stay with Xu Xiuxiu.

Xu Xiuxiu was amused by his reaction.

"Fine, follow your aunt and get off the train first! After all, mom doesn’t want to stay with Chengguang either," Xu Xiuxiu said spitefully.

Kids, as they are, can be angry, but Xu Xiuxiu, as a mother, simply couldn’t. Cheng Guang marched proudly with his little backpack, but as soon as he heard the angry tone in Xiuxiu’s voice, he was stunned and then tears started falling uncontrollably, "Mommy’s bad, Mommy’s bad." Annoyed, Cheng Guang swung his little fist and thumped Xiuxiu’s thigh.

"Ow!" Her thigh was suddenly struck by the little guy’s tiny fist, causing Xiuxiu to grimace in pain and twitch while tears filled her eyes.

"They’re really a pair of natural enemies, mother and son." Xu Jingjing watched from the side. With no time to comfort the crying Cheng Guang, she decided to get off the train with Little Moon first and find her brother-in-law. After all, with Cheng Guang staying by Xiuxiu, he was so mad at his mom he certainly wouldn’t run off and might just be looking for a chance to vent his anger on her!

"Is it really Mommy who’s bad or is Cheng Guang being naughty?" Xiuxiu waited a while for the pain in her thigh to subside and then looked down at the not-so-tragically weeping Cheng Guang to challenge him.

The kid had probably built up all this resentment during the twenty-plus hours on the train because she hadn’t gone to coddle him. He had been fine until Xiuxiu said she didn’t want to be with him, which might have hit a sore spot and caused his emotions to collapse.

"Mommy’s bad." Cheng Guang accused Xiuxiu, crying and sniffling.

"Okay, Mommy’s bad." Xiuxiu, helpless against his crying, had no choice but to gently concede.

Although Cheng Guang was satisfied, he continued sobbing sadly. Xiuxiu, with Little Baby in her arms and a weeping Cheng Guang clinging to her leg, truly had her hands full.

"Mommy!" Little Baby had woken up, the little one called out to Xiuxiu. His chubby fingers pointed at the weeping Cheng Guang, his face full of confusion. "Hmm?" Little Baby was asking Mommy why his sibling was crying.

"Brother is angry with Mommy." Xiuxiu looked down and said, "Cheng Guang, no more crying! Look, Little Baby is worried about you. You are the big brother; how can you justify crying so much in front of your little sister? Aren’t men supposed to bleed, not weep?"

"I wasn’t crying." Cheng Guang wiped his cheeks with his chubby little hands, stubbornly replying, and successfully managed to stop crying. But because he had been crying so heartbreakingly before, he suddenly started hiccupping, though he still tightly wrapped his little plump hands around Xiuxiu’s thigh, unwilling to let go even a little bit.

Helplessly, Xiuxiu could only comfort Cheng Guang while waiting for Song Yuanhuan to come aboard the train to help with the luggage. Thankfully, Yuanhuan arrived soon enough. Wearing casual clothes, he still moved with some difficulty, but his sudden appearance on the train surprised Xiuxiu for a moment, as she had grown accustomed to his military uniform and had not seen him for quite some time. She almost didn’t recognize him at first glance.

"Xiuxiu." If it hadn’t been for him approaching her with a happy smile on his face and calling her with his deep and pleasant voice, Xiuxiu wouldn’t have believed the man before her was Yuanhuan.

"Yuanhuan." Xiuxiu’s eyes reddened, and the moment she saw him, her feelings of longing were magnified.

"Is Cheng Guang actually crying?" Yuanhuan said with a hmm, gently stroking Xiuxiu’s cheek, but his eyes were on Cheng Guang hanging on Xiuxiu’s thigh, his voice laced with teasing laughter.

"Daddy!" Cheng Guang looked up at Yuanhuan, crisply calling out for Daddy, then shook his head vigorously, "Cheng Guang wasn’t crying; Daddy saw it wrong." After saying that, his fair cheeks flushed red, obviously embarrassed and shy.