Chapter 231: He Accepts It Willingly

If you really counted all the members of the Gu family, the ten protective charms rewarded by the system were simply not enough.

In the end, Gu Jianing still bought a few more from the system and had her mother take them home.

After Gu Jianing’s repeated instructions, Yao Chunhua replied, “Alright, I know, I’ve never forgotten anything you’ve asked me to do.”

In fact, seeing how insistent Gu Jianing was, Yao Chunhua vaguely guessed something.

After all, her daughter’s miraculous abilities had shown themselves since she was a child—it was just that her daughter had forgotten about them.

But she knew that whatever her daughter emphasized must be important.

At this moment, the train station broadcast was already reminding passengers to board.

No matter how reluctant they were, they still had to part ways in the end.

Yao Chunhua, carrying bags big and small, finally boarded the train under her daughter’s reluctant gaze.

“Mom…”

Gu Jianing called out, but could only watch as the train chugged away.

“Jianing, let’s go home. Don’t worry, as long as we get the chance, I’ll definitely take you and Xingxing and Yueyue back to Huaivillage,” Sheng Zexi put his arm around Gu Jianing’s shoulders, comforting her.

“Mm.”

On the other side, Yao Chunhua, now on the train, kept looking out the window at her daughter’s figure until she could no longer see her, then finally withdrew her gaze.

Wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, she began to organize the bags she’d brought.

Although she had brought a lot of bags when she came, the contents were completely different now.

When she came, she brought with her all the love and care from herself and the whole family for Ningning.

But when she left, what she carried was Ningning’s love for her—and for the whole family.

…

It took Gu Jianing three whole days to recover from Yao Chunhua’s departure.

After that, Gu Jianing got busy.

As for Xingxing and Yueyue at home, she actually didn’t need to worry much—both little ones were very well-behaved.

During the day, Grandma Sang looked after the two children.

At night, they slept on the kang with Gu Jianing and Sheng Zexi.

The children were still young and would wake up from time to time in the middle of the night—either to nurse, or because they’d peed or pooped.

As long as Sheng Zexi was there, he took care of all these things.

When it was time to nurse, if Gu Jianing happened to be awake, the children could breastfeed; if she was still asleep, Sheng Zexi would make formula for them.

He would never wake Gu Jianing just so the children could breastfeed.

To Sheng Zexi, the children were his flesh and blood, very important.

But Gu Jianing was even more important than the children.

Fortunately, both kids had good temperaments. Although they preferred breast milk, they didn’t reject formula either, so whatever Sheng Zexi gave them, they would drink.

Tonight, as Sheng Zexi slept, he suddenly heard one of the children whimpering on the kang.

He immediately opened his eyes.

Glancing at Gu Jianing beside him, he saw she was still sound asleep, so he moved even more quietly.

Looking over, both little ones were awake.

They stared at him with their big, round eyes.

The one who had been whimpering was the older brother, Xingxing.

Sheng Zexi quickly and gently picked him up, whispering, “Shh, be quiet, don’t wake Mommy.”

Xingxing seemed to understand and immediately stopped fussing, his phoenix eyes—so much like Sheng Zexi’s—curiously studying his father.

Seeing him settle down, Sheng Zexi breathed a sigh of relief.

After checking, he found that Xingxing hadn’t peed or pooped.

He was probably just hungry.

“Lie here, Daddy will go make your formula. I’ll be quick.”

With that, Sheng Zexi started preparing the formula.

By now, after more than a month of practice, whether it was holding the kids or making formula, he was already very skilled.

Soon, the bottle was ready.

He cradled Xingxing in his arms and put the bottle in his mouth.

Xingxing really was hungry—once the nipple was in his mouth, he started drinking greedily.

In just a few minutes, he finished the bottle.

Xingxing soon grew drowsy.

Sheng Zexi laid him back on the kang and carefully tucked him in.

Then he checked on Yueyue.

Yueyue seemed to have been quietly waiting for her dad.

When she saw him look over, she gave him a sweet smile.

Looking at her, Sheng Zexi felt his heart melt.

He thought: between his son and daughter, he liked his daughter a bit more.

After all, she looked so much like Ningning, and her smile was just as sweet.

As for Xingxing…

He always had such a serious little face, like a little old man.

But…

Both were good kids.

“My good girl, are you hungry?”

“Daddy will make your formula now.”

So Sheng Zexi quickly made another bottle, then picked up his daughter and fed her.

Yueyue drank much more delicately and slowly than her brother.

But as a father, Sheng Zexi was very patient.

When Yueyue finished, Sheng Zexi caught a faint whiff of something stinky.

He checked and found that his daughter had pooped.

Sheng Zexi quickly poured out hot water from the thermos, grabbed the towel specifically for washing Yueyue’s bottom, cleaned her up, dried her, put on a fresh diaper, and dressed her.

Throughout the whole process, Sheng Zexi’s movements were gentle and careful.

Yueyue was very comfortable.

She even started to doze off.

By the time Sheng Zexi finished dressing her, Yueyue was already fast asleep.

Sheng Zexi laid her down beside Xingxing and tucked her in as well.

After tidying up a bit, he finally climbed back onto the kang and went back to sleep.

Because Sheng Zexi was so gentle throughout, and the two children never cried loudly, plus Gu Jianing was a sound sleeper, she really had no idea about any of this at night.

And ever since Gu Jianing gave birth, Sheng Zexi had repeated this kind of night countless times.

But Sheng Zexi never complained. In fact, he accepted it willingly, even sweetly.

He had always kept the promise he made to Gu Jianing:

Since she gave birth, he would do his best to provide for and educate their children.

—

Gu Jianing had indeed been busy lately. Besides work, she was preparing for an upcoming lecture on PTSD at the Northwest Military District.

The report Gu Jianing had submitted earlier had already received official approval.

That’s why this lecture was happening.

The lecture would be held at the Northwest Military District.

Other military districts would send doctors to attend and learn.

Since the lecture would last three days, Gu Jianing had a lot to prepare.

Fortunately, she had experience from giving lectures in Beijing before.

Finally, in mid-June, the lecture was held.

…

Li Tingxuan, carrying a backpack and suitcase, walked into the Northwest Military District.

Looking at the military district ahead, Li Tingxuan felt complicated emotions.

After the incident with Li Shuyao, both he and his grandfather had been restricted in their movements, only recently regaining their freedom.

But after all, Li Shuyao was from the Li family and had leaked a lot of secrets.

Even though it had nothing to do with the rest of the Li family, they were still affected by it."