Chapter 126: Grand Finale

Since Beiming Qianye was the Commander-in-Chief in charge of the three armed forces, he would take Xiao Bao to play at the military base on his days off after the boy turned six. Now past his sixth birthday, not only had Xiao Bao grown increasingly handsome, but he also spoke very articulately.

His sweet little mouth was like honey. He would sweetly call the young male soldiers “Sir” and the young female soldiers “Miss” whenever he saw them, which made him widely welcomed everywhere he went. The comrades at the base were incredibly fond of Xiao Bao—not just because he was the Commander-in-Chief’s son, but primarily because he was simply too adorable. He brought everyone a lot of joy. Ever since Xiao Bao started frequenting the base, the soldiers liked to keep a piece of candy in their pockets or prepare some coconuts to give to him when he arrived.

Without Momo’s “supervision,” Beiming Qianye could “train” his son with more peace of mind. Although Xiao Bao was only six, Beiming Qianye had him run, crawl through mud pits, and shoot toy guns. He would take his son through every drill the soldiers at the base underwent, though he adjusted the intensity to what the boy could safely handle.

As a result, whenever Beiming Qianye took care of the kid, Momo would dress Xiao Bao up neatly and cleanly, only for him to return as a filthy mudball. He would be covered in mud from head to toe, his little face as dirty as a stray cat’s.

Momo had argued with Beiming Qianye several times over this.

“Look at what you’ve done to our son!” Seeing her perfectly fine boy turned into a “mud child,” Momo couldn’t help but scold Beiming Qianye while changing Xiao Bao’s clothes.

Xiao Bao, however, didn’t feel dirty at all. Instead, he cheered happily, “Daddy takes me! Daddy takes me!”

Momo glared at him. “If your daddy takes you out again, Mommy won’t want you anymore. You’re too dirty!”

Hearing this, father and son exchanged a knowing smile.

After scolding Beiming Qianye a few times, Momo found that he still returned a mud doll to her whenever she entrusted their son to him. Several times, Xiao Bao’s calves were even scraped, and she had no idea how her husband managed to do that. Furious, Momo immediately sent Beiming Qianye to stand in the corner as punishment. After changing his clothes, Xiao Bao ran over to stand in the corner with his dad.

Ever since Xiao Bao’s legs got scraped, Momo refused to let Beiming Qianye take care of him. Surprisingly, little Xiao Bao was unhappy with this arrangement. Whenever Beiming Qianye had a day off, Xiao Bao would run up to his dad with open arms, chanting, “Daddy take me, Daddy take me.”

Momo was speechless; it seemed her son was a glutton for punishment. Since Xiao Bao insisted on playing with Beiming Qianye, she eventually had no choice but to let them be.

Although Xiao Bao was often brought back as a “mud child,” Momo noticed how he differed from other children. For instance, he was noticeably more resilient and cheerful, and physically stronger as well. Take Xiao Bao’s older cousin, Xiao Yu, for example. Though Xiao Yu was three months older, the boy always spoke softly and weakly, and his eyes were timid. Xiao Bao, on the other hand, was always bursting with energy, possessing a fearless demeanor from a young age.

Looking at it now, Momo realized that Beiming Qianye’s strictness with Xiao Bao had its benefits. After all, Xiao Bao was indeed much sturdier than kids his age.

One time, Xiao Bao ran off to play at the base again. The soldiers were incredibly fond of him.

“Xiao Bao, come here. Do you want a piece of candy?” a soldier said with a chuckle.

Xiao Bao pattered over, took the candy from the man, clumsily peeled off the wrapper with his chubby little hands, and popped it into his mouth.

“Is it good?” the soldier asked, beaming at him. Ever since Xiao Bao started playing at the base, he had made it a habit to keep candy or something similar in his pockets to give to the boy whenever he saw him.

Xiao Bao nodded vigorously. “It’s yummy! Thank you!”

The soldier’s eyes curved into happy crescents. He thought, “This child is just too adorable. He looks exactly like the Commander-in-Chief. He’ll definitely grow up to be quite the handsome young man!”

After Xiao Bao celebrated his sixth birthday, Xiu Xiu sent him to elementary school. Among his classmates were two children named Shanshan and Xiaobei.

Perhaps it was their first time being away from their parents, but Shanshan and Xiaobei were completely unaccustomed to the school environment. As soon as they arrived at school, the two of them cried and demanded to go home.

“I want to go home to my mom!” Shanshan cried out.