I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 38 - 37: Position Taken

Smack, Xu Qingqing slapped a pair of bowls and chopsticks onto the dinner table with a scowl, "What's wrong with you, girl? Can't you just eat a meal nicely? Must you act like you're on a warpath, and accuse Xiuxiu and me of colluding in disgrace? What exactly have we colluded on? Spit it out! If you can't, then don't blame me, your sister, for not being polite." Xu Qingqing had always been irritated by this younger sister, who followed her around like a burdensome shadow, blaming Xu Qingqing for her own injuries and falls even when they happened while she was out playing—such immense resentment! She'd always find a way to throw shade in front of their parents.

"You two are indeed colluding, and now you don't even allow others to speak of it." Xu Jingjing also put down her bowl and chopsticks forcefully, standing up with a slam that sent a challenging glare towards Xu Qingqing. Her manner seemed ready for a fight. Cai Tou and Song Chengguang were younger, so they looked at the stand-off briefly before lowering their eyes and continuing to eat.

Xu Xiuxiu turned to see that Song Chengguang wasn't scared but rather looked as though he were watching a show with a silly grin. She breathed a sigh of relief and then turned her frowning gaze back to Xu Jingjing.

A perfectly fine meal, ruined by that girl.

"Enough, enough, don't embarrass yourselves in front of your brothers-in-law. You're all sisters from the same family, what's there to fight about? Sit down and eat your meal properly," said Mr. Xu. He usually had no solutions for managing his daughters, and at this point he merely frowned in silence, not knowing how to intervene. It was hard to take sides when both palms and backs are flesh. Only Mrs. Xu wielded significant authority at home, and when she seriously spoke up, none of the daughters dared to disobey. "The two of you, really, you're both mothers now, why bother arguing with such a young girl!" Mrs. Xu chastised Xu Qingqing and Xu Xiuxiu in a placating manner.

Xu Xiuxiu, the central figure of the incident and the target of Xu Jingjing's initial provocation, remained silent throughout. She was left somewhat speechless by Mrs. Xu's comment that she was being petty.

Petty? Petty about what? She hadn't said a word from the beginning to the end, right?

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Though internally grumbling, she had no desire to continue arguing over a few words and risk spoiling everyone's mood. With that thought, she turned her attention back to feeding Song Chengguang, occasionally adding some light dishes to his bowl.

"Auntie Four is a baddie," Cai Tou suddenly piped up while gnawing on a rib. Though he had spoken ill of his own mother earlier, he still knew how to be protective.

At his word, Xu Jingjing's eyes widened with the intent to march over and smack him.

"Cai Tou, eat your meal quietly," Xu Qingqing was quick to glare at her son, issuing a stern request. She might not like Xu Jingjing, but she was still her sister, and it was essential for Cai Tou, as her son, to learn respect.

Cai Tou, initially frightened by Xu Jingjing's glare, quickly lowered his gaze to obediently focus on his food upon hearing his mother's command. Seeing this, Xu Jingjing huffed coldly, "I'm full," and after casting a disdainful look at Xu Qingqing, she turned and left the room.

"That girl is really becoming too much. Don't mind her; let's just eat," Mrs. Xu's face darkened slightly. Seeing the others exchange glances without anyone stopping the fourth daughter, she criticized Xu Jingjing's behavior, but it was evident the dining atmosphere gradually became less harmonious afterward.

Xu Xiuxiu also felt somewhat stifled eating this meal, having initially planned to stay at her parents' home for the day, but she decided to leave after lunch and pack up early to return to the Song family. Mrs. Xu didn't try to detain her, instead she just conveyed some heartfelt advice, telling her to take care of herself and not work too hard.

Xu Qingqing had come specifically to see Xu Xiuxiu, and with Xu Xiuxiu about to leave, she didn't have the desire to stay either, so as soon as Xu Xiuxiu left, she followed right behind.

Before long, the once lively Xu Family home had returned to its usual tranquility. Mrs. Xu sighed disheartenedly at the sight, "What misfortunes!" Muttering irritably, she consoled herself with the thought that children and grandchildren have their own blessings before going inside to rest for a while.

Mr. Xu sat in the main room, smoking a pipe. Finding himself alone, he quietly took out a wooden carved little tiger, "Still haven't found the right opportunity to secretly give it to Cheng Guang!" Mr. Xu felt very upset about this, realizing that it was uncertain when their third daughter would next visit her parental home. Alas!

...

After Xu Xiuxiu returned to her parental home, she set off back to Z Province the next morning. Before leaving, she went to the local credit cooperative to withdraw 500 yuan, fearing that her uncle Song Yuntao wouldn't have enough funds for his hospitalization.

Mr. Song originally wanted to refuse Xu Xiuxiu's kind gesture, feeling that accepting more money from his daughter-in-law would leave him with nowhere to put his face, but the family really was in need of money. They already owed some debts to neighbors, but nowadays, other families were also struggling. By the end of the year, he at least needed to gather some money to pay people back. Since Song Yuantao wouldn't recover anytime soon and the subsequent medical and recuperation expenses would be considerable for at least a month, Mr. Song, thus, reluctantly accepted Xiuxiu's thoughtful 500 yuan with gratitude.

At eight in the morning, Xu Xiuxiu and Song Yuanhuan, with Song Chengguang in tow, boarded the train headed for Z Province.

The two tickets they had purchased were not side by side, but they were face-to-face. However, Xu Xiuxiu found herself sitting next to an elderly gentleman who was quite amiable and polite. Due to his age, though, there was a strong smell of tobacco and body odor, which, along with the odd scents wafting in from the slightly open train window, was almost too much for Xu Xiuxiu to bear. After enduring it for a while, her face turned deathly pale, and not even two hours into the journey, she was close to collapsing.

"Yuanhuan, I need to go to the washroom," Xu Xiuxiu said, tears nearly falling as she quickly stood up and dashed toward the restroom.

Song Yuanhuan, seeing Xu Xiuxiu's reddened eyes as she fought back tears, stood up and followed her, worriedly waiting outside the train restroom.

Xu Xiuxiu locked herself in the washroom and washed her face several times with water from Space Spring Water. She also took the opportunity to pluck and swallow a pink, translucent fruit from the space, which helped restore some color to her face before she made her way back to her seat.

"In a little while, you sit in my place," Song Yuanhuan suggested. Although their seats were very close by, the smell emanating from the elderly gentleman wasn't as strong where he was sitting, compared to the window-side seat Xu Xiuxiu had.

"Okay," Xu Xiuxiu replied without fuss, obediently nodding her head.

To be honest, she didn't really have any disdain for the old gentleman, but due to her body's instinctive reactions and the enhancements from the space, she was more sensitive to external stimuli than other people. She could understand and empathize with the elderly man and wouldn't blame him—everyone gets old—but she couldn't help wanting to escape the feeling of nausea.

Initially, Xu Xiuxiu felt somewhat embarrassed about the situation, but when she and Song Yuanhuan returned to their seats, they were flabbergasted to find that their seats had been forcibly taken. In Xu Xiuxiu's original seat sat another elderly gentleman, similar in age to the one by the window, while an old lady had taken Song Yuanhuan's place. The old lady, upon seeing them return, simply turned her head to look out the window, not even sparing them a glance.