Chapter 31 Part 1: The Unveiling of a Painful Past (1)

Once Song Wenbin had clarified the matter, he addressed the crowd. “Currently, I haven’t heard any news about the meat distribution being canceled.

So, please don’t believe rumors or cause any unrest. If it truly is canceled, the factory will definitely issue an official announcement to explain everything clearly.”

“So, will it be distributed or not?” someone called out from the back.

How could Song Wenbin possibly explain such a thing clearly? If there truly was an unforeseen change at the meat processing plant, preventing the delivery of meat, the factory would be helpless, and so would he.

Ultimately, Song Wenbin could only promise to inquire further when he returned to work tomorrow, pledging to inform them once he had news. After offering a few more words of reassurance, he sent the people away.

Despite the prolonged commotion, no one from the Chen family emerged. Normally, in such situations, Cai Zhen would undoubtedly be at the forefront.

However, today was different. Due to Cai Zhen’s foolish actions, the Chen family had completely alienated her maternal relatives.

Chen Guoliang might not have intended to fall out with the Cai family, as he still relied on his father-in-law for many things.

Yet, he lacked the diplomatic skill to handle such matters. If Xu Hengzhou had been in charge, he surely would have convinced the Cai family to return the grain, and they would have even thanked him, leaving Cai Zhen to take the blame. However, since she was the cause of the trouble, taking the fall was hardly unfair.

Returning to the Chen family’s absence, it wasn’t just about losing face and avoiding people. It was also likely that their household’s grain supply was genuinely insufficient.

Chen Guoliang, in a way, truly was a match for Cai Zhen. When the Cai family returned the grain, he, without a second thought, kept only enough for his own family’s rations and sent the rest to his mother in the countryside.

He was different from Cai Zhen. Cai Zhen’s family held official positions, and regardless of their private lives, their public image was certainly enviable.

In Chen Guoliang’s case, everyone knew his mother and brothers lived in the countryside, and their grain was scarce. If he supplemented their supply, no one could truly object.

The only ones disgusted by this were the Cai family, including his wife, Cai Zhen.

As a result, while the Chen family had enough rations to last until the next distribution, exchanging them for meat coupons was now impossible. Therefore, the meat distribution no longer truly concerned the Chen family.

After speaking with the people, Song Wenbin turned and walked back to his own home.

Upon entering the house, Xu Hengzhou asked, “Uncle, is the meat not being distributed anymore?”

He had paused by the doorway, listening, and had a general idea of the situation. His question wasn’t for himself; he knew Xiang Chen had been looking forward to that meal.

The items in his space were not yet convenient to take out. Bringing back so many things already, then adding meat, would be far too conspicuous.

Xu Hengzhou felt a pang of regret. He should have found a way to bring some meat back that afternoon, instead of giving up because raw meat was inconvenient to carry.

“It’s nothing,” Song Wenbin reassured him. “I’ll go inquire tomorrow. If it truly isn’t distributed, Uncle will take you out to a restaurant. We’ll eat meat at a proper restaurant.”

“I don’t eat meat.” Xiang Chen knew dining out would be expensive. Song Wenbin was already taking such good care of them with food and drink; they shouldn’t ask for too much.

So, Xiang Chen looked up, his face serious, and told Song Wenbin, “I have milk to drink. I don’t need to eat meat.”

“Our Chenchen likes drinking milk, does he?” Song Wenbin clearly didn’t take his words seriously, laughing as he lifted Xiang Chen. “Let me smell you. Hey, you really are a little milk baby!”

Due to his small stature, Xiang Chen usually only experienced the lower air. Suddenly, being elevated to a wider view, he paused for a moment, then pursed his lips and giggled.

“Fun, isn’t it?” Song Wenbin smiled along with him, then, after lifting him high, he tossed Xiang Chen up and caught him again.

At first, Xiang Chen was startled, but after Song Wenbin’s strong arms caught him steadily, only joy remained. He giggled like a little fool, letting Song Wenbin toss him up and catch him again, smiling with an uncontainable happiness.

In that moment, Song Wenbin’s image seemed to merge with the father figure Xiang Chen had always fantasized about.

His biological father had led him from disappointment to despair, causing him to abandon any longing for paternal love.

Yet, after traversing time and winding through life, he found the strength of a father in someone with whom he shared no blood relation.

After playing for a while, Song Wenbin finally put Xiang Chen down. The child’s face was flushed from laughter, his eyes curved into little crescent moons, smiling like a lucky doll.

Seeing him sweaty from playing, Xu Hengzhou wrung out a towel to wipe his face, only to find his neck was also damp.

He decided to heat two kettles of water, dragged out the large wooden basin, and prepared a bath for Xiang Chen.

Even after soaking in the basin, Xiang Chen hadn’t fully recovered, giggling foolishly to himself like a split steamed bun, without any apparent reason.

Xu Hengzhou found it amusing. With a mischievous streak, he deliberately poked Xiang Chen’s chubby little bottom. Xiang Chen, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, nearly leaped out of the basin.

“You, what are you doing?” Xiang Chen’s eyes widened, his cheeks puffed out as he stared at Xu Hengzhou.

Xu Hengzhou feigned innocence. “There was a little bug.”

“What?” Xiang Chen looked down at the spot Xu Hengzhou had poked.

“What else did you think I was doing?” Xu Hengzhou pretended to be angry, though he was almost cramping from laughter internally.

Hearing this, Xiang Chen thought he had genuinely misunderstood, and quickly said, “I’m sorry, Brother, please don’t be angry.”

“I forgive you.” Xu Hengzhou seized the opportunity to pinch Xiang Chen’s cheek. “I’ll go add some hot water for you.”

After Xiang Chen finished his bath, Song Wenbin checked his schoolbag, then urged the two children to go to bed. It was Monday tomorrow, and both little ones had school.

Xiang Chen got into bed first, rolling around in his blanket, then stared blankly at Xu Hengzhou, who was tidying his desk.

He was just an ordinary person, unremarkable in every way. Yet, Xu Hengzhou possessed a very calm demeanor that made others involuntarily want to be near him.

This was one of the reasons Song Wenbin never restricted Xu Hengzhou’s movements; his abilities and way of handling things were exceptionally mature.

“What are you looking at?” Xu Hengzhou finished tidying, turned to take off his clothes for bed, and then noticed Xiang Chen staring at him foolishly.

“Nothing, nothing…” Xiang Chen buried his face in the blanket. He longed to be as excellent as his brother, always wishing to be like him.

Xu Hengzhou could tell he wasn’t telling the truth, but he didn’t press him. It wasn’t a big deal; he was looking at him, not someone else, so there was no need to worry.

After changing, Xu Hengzhou lay on the bed, telling Xiang Chen to close his eyes and sleep, then closed his own eyes. On the surface, he appeared to be asleep, but he was actually organizing the supplies in his space.

There were too many things in his space, but not many he could openly take out. He needed to sort out that particular portion.

In Xu Hengzhou’s space, time was stagnant. However, if his consciousness entered it, the time would synchronize with the outside world.

This meant that for as long as his mind remained in the space, the same amount of time would pass outside, and his physical body could not truly enter that dimension.

At the same time, if his consciousness was in the space, he would still be aware of events happening outside.

Since he had school tomorrow, Xu Hengzhou didn’t stay in the space for long, emerging after about half an hour.

Withdrawing his consciousness, Xu Hengzhou prepared to sleep. He turned over, intending to check if Xiang Chen’s blanket was properly covered, and as he twisted, he realized the child beside him was merely pretending to sleep.

His eyes were closed, yet his long eyelashes fluttered, clearly indicating that their owner wasn’t very skilled at feigning sleep.

A hint of confusion flickered in Xu Hengzhou’s mind. His little dumpling, who could eat and sleep so well, had played for so long during the day.

He should have been exhausted and sleepy by now, so why wasn’t he asleep? And not only was he not sleeping, the little rascal was pretending to be!

Unable to fathom it, Xu Hengzhou simply closed his eyes, intending to make Xiang Chen a cup of warm milk to help him sleep if he still couldn’t drift off in a little while.

He lay quietly, his breathing steady, his feigned sleep far more convincing than Xiang Chen’s. To anyone watching, he appeared to be in a deep slumber.

After about ten minutes, the breathing beside him remained inconsistent, fluctuating between light and heavy. Xu Hengzhou was about to get up and make Xiang Chen some milk when Xiang Chen suddenly moved.

Xu Hengzhou’s breathing remained undisturbed, yet he felt a small hand reach over and gently rest on his own.

The warm little paw gripped two of his fingers, and then the child’s breathing beside him instantly smoothed out, as if a sigh of relief had been released.

Xu Hengzhou chuckled internally. ‘So, he’s afraid of the dark?’ He hadn’t noticed this in the past few days, perhaps because Xiang Chen always fell asleep so quickly.

Knowing the reason, Xu Hengzhou no longer bothered to pretend. He simply turned his hand, grasping the chubby little paw clutching his fingers, then rolled onto his side and patted the small boy’s back.

“Don’t be scared. Brother’s here with you.”

Xiang Chen, who had thought he was asleep, suddenly heard him speak and let out a startled hiccup.

Xu Hengzhou, amused, patted his back to help him settle, but Xiang Chen was a little bewildered. Afraid of what? Did Brother know?

His mind was in turmoil. Before bed, he had been thinking about a jumble of things, memories he thought he had forgotten, now vividly resurfacing in the darkness of his mind.

The more he thought, the more afraid he became, and the less he could sleep. He tried to force himself to stop thinking, but the panic in his heart refused to subside.

That’s why he had feigned sleep, wanting to secretly hold Xu Hengzhou’s hand.

Xu Hengzhou didn’t know what was going through Xiang Chen’s mind. He patted him for a while, and once Xiang Chen stopped hiccuping, he gently pushed him to lie down, then released his hand, intending to pull the blanket up.

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