I Became the Mother of His Child-Chapter 495: He Should Be Willing

Song Qian tossed and turned all night in her room, unable to sleep after Xu Xiuxiu had spoken to her about the issue of changing surnames. She was contemplating whether or not to change her surname, but one thing Xu Xiuxiu was right about: when the Song Family married a daughter-in-law, it was impossible for them to let their son, Song Yuanming, change his name and surname. She wasn't a completely clueless and self-centered girl; she also understood how apparent the preference for sons over daughters was in society today.

Based on her understanding of Song Yuanming, she believed he would be willing to change his name and surname for her, but upon reflection, she found that she was very reluctant. If he changed his name, the Song Family would certainly be unhappy. Their current affection allowed for capricious spending, but after ten or twenty years, when the affection between husband and wife might fade with time, Song Yuanming would surely regret the decision he had made. She wanted to have a good relationship with him, as Song Yuanming was a man worthy of her cherish. She did not want to lose him, nor did she want him to compromise heavily for her. If he were to change his surname, then in the end, she would still be the daughter-in-law at the bottom, finding it hardest to fit in.

Song Qian's thoughts ran in complicated circles until, unable to resist the cold, she finally closed her eyes and dozed off for a couple of hours. When daylight had already illuminated the outside world, she opened her eyes. Immediately, Song Qian felt a piercing coldness. She shivered as she took a deep breath and got out of bed. After getting dressed, she pushed open the window of her room and looked out to see a world cloaked in silver, covered in white snow. Then she spied Song Yuanming, full of energy, with several nieces and nephews starting to merrily build a snowman in the courtyard with small shovels, and something settled in Song Qian's heart.

She thought that perhaps there was no need to give more thought to changing to her mother's surname. She wanted to marry Song Yuanming, bear his children, and walk with him through life.

"Are you up? Did you sleep well last night?" Song Yuanming, who was building a snowman with Song Chengguang and Little Moon, immediately picked up his spade and stood beaming beneath her window when he saw Song Qian open the window of the little attic. He then looked up with a smile and asked, "It's snowing today. It's very cold outside. Remember to wear more clothes so you don't catch a cold." Song Yuanming considerately glanced at the woolen coat on Song Qian and felt reassured seeing that she was dressed warmly.

"Yes! I slept very well," Song Qian said, seriously nodding her head, ignoring the reluctance in her heart.

"Then hurry down to wash your face. Breakfast will be ready soon. Around eight or nine o'clock, there will be a lot of New Year's food to prepare at home. You must be full of energy and learn as much as you can from the two sisters-in-law," Song Yuanming reminded Song Qian with a smile.

After all, as an outsider daughter-in-law, Song Yuanming, as a native of Song Family Village, naturally knew that the people here actually hoped their children could marry someone from a nearby village, or at the very least, a daughter-in-law whose background was well known. Someone like him who found his own partner from outside and brought her home was extremely rare. His parents were certainly open-minded, but with two excellent sisters-in-law to compare against, he naturally didn't want Song Qian to be ignored or to stand out as incompatible. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Okay." Song Qian obediently nodded: "I'll come right down."

"Sure, little aunt, come quick! Let's all build a snowman together. Uncle just made a really big one, look, it's right there!" Little Baby was quite fond of Zhao Ziqi from the Wei Dafang family, perhaps because Zhao Ziqi had always been repressed by Wei Dafang and was more low-key. Whenever she came home for the New Year and met her, Little Baby would always act like a big sister and take care of her. Now, seeing Song Yuanming looking up and talking to Song Qian, she happily dragged Zhao Ziqi over, with a face full of a show-off expression.

"Okay!" Song Qian followed the direction the little girl was pointing and glanced over, then smiled and nodded.

"Xue, build xue-ren (snowman)." Following next to Little Baby was a round and plump little boy, dressed in thick clothes and a warm hat, adorably trailing beside them, stepping in the snow, wobbling east and west. Hearing Little Baby say they were going to build a snowman, he immediately joined in the excitement, repeating the words, but in a milky voice that was extremely unstandard in pronunciation.

This little boy was the son of Song Yuan Yao and Wu Lixue; his name was Wu Feng. Over the years since Song Yuan Yao had married, she had always spent New Year's with her husband Wu Lixue and her in-laws, only coming back if there was time after the New Year's. Occasionally, if she couldn't make time, she would only come back to visit Father Song and Mrs. Song during the summer vacation. This year, having learned that her younger brother Song Yuanming was bringing his girlfriend home, and due to the close relationship she and Song Yuanming had since childhood, she asked her in-laws, and after discussing it with her husband Wu Lixue, they brought him and their son Wu Feng back to Song Family Village for the New Year.

The little boy was raised to be very cute and sturdy. He hardly could walk steadily, shaking and wobbling, but still loved to follow behind Little Baby and Zhao Ziqi, the two sisters. His cheerful appearance was simply speechless to onlookers, and his mother Song Yuan Yao couldn't help but joke that their little guy had a talent from a young age – he wasn't interested in the boys, always solicitously following behind the girls, so they wouldn't have to worry about him finding a wife in the future.

"It's 'snowman,' silly." Little Baby, hearing what Wu Feng said, corrected him with a bit of a headache, "Feng Feng, your parents are both teachers, how can you, as a teacher's son, pronounce it incorrectly?" Little Baby, since starting school, had a very deep impression of teachers, especially the teachers of this era, whose sense of nobility was indescribable in words.

Little Baby had always liked younger brothers and sisters, but now that she was seven or eight years old, an increasingly sensible little girl felt helpless towards this chubby younger brother who loved to follow her around. He was too young and simply couldn't join in the play with her and Zhao Ziqi, but still, the chubby little kid was unchangingly eager to play with Little Baby and Zhao Ziqi, his milky voice solicitously calling out "Jiejie, Jiejie."

Even now, after being righteously corrected by Little Baby, the little guy still showed his small white teeth and nodded with a grin, "Mm-hmm, snowman."

"Alright, you guys go ahead and start building the snowman, little aunt will wash up and come join you, okay?" Song Qian's mood had been quite somber, but now with the children's innocent smiles, somehow she felt like everything else didn't matter anymore. She thought, if she and Song Yuanhuan could end up together, they could also hold hands and have a cute baby one day. She thought, just changing her surname, she wouldn't object.

After having breakfast at the Song Family's, Song Qian was taken around Song Family Village by Song Yuanming, familiarizing herself with the paths, acknowledging every Song Family Village door, and also took the opportunity to go to the village store and make a greeting call to her parents back home.