Chapter 14: Becoming Family Without Blood Ties

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Becoming Family Without Blood Ties

"The two kids had no one to care for them, they were starving and ran out to search for food. They were so hungry they tried to steal food at a restaurant and nearly got beaten up. I compensated a bit of money and brought them home." Mr. Bai nodded, understanding the kids had probably been hungry for a few days by then.

"Later, someone from the army came and said someone was willing to adopt the two kids, so they were taken back. Then Lu Feng came over with gifts to thank me for taking them in. These two little guys are very affectionate. Even after being adopted, they often sneak back to see me," Mr. Bai looked at Fu Xiaoxiao.

"I’m telling you all this to ask you, considering the kids are still young, to not make things difficult for them. I know it’s hard to be a stepmother, and you’ll have kids of your own in the future, which might make them seem like a burden. However, these kids are sensible. Just raise them until they are eighteen while I am still alive, and I will send you ten yuan every month."

Mr. Bai finished speaking and waited for Fu Xiaoxiao’s response.

Fu Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance with Mr. Bai and shook her head.

Mr. Bai’s eyes dimmed, thinking Fu Xiaoxiao had refused.

"Grandpa Bai, you don’t need to give me the ten yuan. I will raise them regardless. This was Lu Feng’s condition for marrying me," Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Mr. Bai. Seeing him alone, she assumed he had no family. His willingness to care so much for two unrelated kids and even offer money each month proved his kindness.

Mr. Bai was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what Fu Xiaoxiao meant.

Fu Xiaoxiao laughed. No one in this family was simple.

Fu Xiaoxiao explained the conditions of her marriage to Lu Feng to Mr. Bai. After hearing it, Mr. Bai fell silent.

He hadn’t expected that Lu Feng married Fu Xiaoxiao for the kids.

"So you can rest assured. I know how unpleasant that feeling is. In my view, not sharing blood doesn’t mean you can’t become family. Just like you and them, you aren’t related, but it doesn’t affect your relationship," Fu Xiaoxiao’s words made Mr. Bai’s heart tremble, and he looked at her.

"We’re all the same, and no one should look down on anyone. It’s clear to me that you genuinely care for them and treat them as your own, which is why you are telling me all this," Fu Xiaoxiao said with a smile, looking at Mr. Bai.

Mr. Bai gazed at Fu Xiaoxiao’s cheerful smile, with complexity in his eyes.

What had she gone through to possess such a bright and sunny smile?

The two children, eavesdropping outside for a while, exchanged a look.

As they left the Bai’s house, Mr. Bai personally came out to see them off. Fu Xiaoxiao borrowed a basket and a water bottle from him and set off with the two kids on the return journey.

Knowing it would take two hours to get home, Fu Xiaoxiao felt her legs tremble a bit.

Lu Lin and Lu Chen, unlike their laid-back demeanor when they came, had their glances fall on Fu Xiaoxiao intermittently on the way back. Whenever she turned her head, the kids would nonchalantly look away.

"Your mouths are for talking. If you have questions, just ask... Having you staring at me like that is driving me crazy," Fu Xiaoxiao said helplessly, after being watched by them for the nth time.

"You... you also don’t have a mom?" Lu Chen cautiously glanced at Fu Xiaoxiao and asked softly, nervously.

"That’s not quite accurate. You have a mom. My mom... should have one too, just don’t know where she is," Fu Xiaoxiao, aware they eavesdropped on her conversation with Mr. Bai, replied with a smile.

"They said mom didn’t want us," Lu Chen stubbornly pursed his lips, holding back tears, refusing to let them fall.

"Do you resent her?" Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Lin, who kept a cold face without responding, his small hand clenching tightly.

"She didn’t want us, so we don’t want her either," Lu Chen bit his lip and angrily declared, raising his tiny fist.

"Did she treat you well before?" Fu Xiaoxiao asked seriously.

"... yeah." Lu Lin and Lu Chen exchanged a look. Although she didn’t want them anymore, before... she was good to them.

"Then don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe she had her reasons? You must form your own judgments. No matter what others say, it’s better for you to ask her directly," Fu Xiaoxiao remembered Mr. Bai mentioned their mother was soft-natured and could have been married off without her say.

If she really was forced, abandoning her children...

"But we don’t know where she got married..." Lu Chen looked at Lu Lin, who lowered his head. They wanted to find her and ask why she abandoned them and his brother.

"Maybe I can help with this. Once we get home, I will ask around for you," Fu Xiaoxiao, seeing the kids’ dejected faces, decided to lend a hand.

"Really?" Lu Chen raised his head in disbelief, looking at Fu Xiaoxiao, excitedly extending his pinky. "You can’t lie to me, pinky swear!"

Fu Xiaoxiao laughed, hooking her finger with Lu Chen’s, listening to him sing. "Pinky swear, whoever breaks it is a puppy for a hundred years!"

To children, this was a sacred ritual. Fu Xiaoxiao cooperated with Lu Chen to complete the pinky swear.

Lu Chen, at the thought of meeting his mother, joyfully started running, while Lu Lin gazed at Fu Xiaoxiao.

"She won’t come home with us." Lu Lin’s words carried a conviction, as if he knew his mother’s nature wouldn’t allow her to return.

"If she is happy, wouldn’t you be satisfied? If she won’t come back, so be it; it doesn’t change the fact you’re her child." Fu Xiaoxiao initially wanted to ruffle his hair but opted to pat his shoulder instead.

"You still have Xiao Chen, and if you’re willing, you have Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu. Although we are not related by blood, it doesn’t stop us from becoming family," Fu Xiaoxiao said with a smile, proving that relationships could transcend blood ties.

Lu Lin looked at Fu Xiaoxiao, confusion filling his little eyes. "Others don’t want to be stepmothers, why do you?"

As Fu Xiaoxiao was about to answer, she was startled by the honking of a car horn. Ahead, a familiar military vehicle was approaching them.

"Hmm?" Fu Xiaoxiao looked at the driver. It’s not Wang Lu?

"Sis-in-law, the Commander asked me to come pick you up," Wang Lu stopped the car in front of Fu Xiaoxiao and took her basket.

"I’m really sorry for troubling you," Fu Xiaoxiao accepted the offer, taking Lu Lin and Lu Chen into the car.

Finally, a savior had arrived, sparing them the walk back.

"Sis-in-law, next time you need anything, just let me know. The camp goes for supplies every few days, and we can bring back whatever the residential compound lacks," Wang Lu explained to Fu Xiaoxiao.

"So that’s how it is, thank you so much for telling me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known," Fu Xiaoxiao gratefully replied.

Lu Feng had left in a hurry, never telling Fu Xiaoxiao about this arrangement. If not for Wang Lu, she genuinely wouldn’t have known.

After returning to the base, Wang Lu dropped them off at home. Fu Xiaoxiao gratefully looked at Wang Lu. "Xiao Lu, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you picking us up, it would have been dark by the time we got back."

"Sis-in-law, no need to be polite. The Camp Commander repeatedly instructed me to look after you," Wang Lu said with a grin, scratched his head, and left to report back to the Commander after placing down Fu Xiaoxiao’s things.