It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 10

When the train arrived at the station, there was an extremely large flow of people disembarking. The crowd squeezed together in the narrow train station like a tide, with incoming and outgoing passengers brushing past each other. All sorts of pedestrians could be seen on the road, dragging big and small bags, and the sound of children crying was incessant.

Jiang Shuangling was astonished as she watched a couple walk by with six children—two in a backpack carrier and four holding hands, while the children in the carrier looked around curiously.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

Her gaze lingered on the children in the carrier for three seconds. She truly admired the couples of this era. Thinking about her classmates who married early, they could barely handle one child, let alone six.

Here, two adults could handle six children.

With this thought, Jiang Shuangling lowered her head and pinched Jiang Che’s cheek, thinking that if all children could be as obedient as her little brother, she could probably handle six of them alone.

However, obedient children were still few in this world, and there were countless little rascals.

She waited for seven or eight minutes before she spotted Qi Heng in the crowd. He stood out almost effortlessly in the crowd, barely needing any effort to spot his figure.

Qi Heng walked towards Jiang Shuangling, holding a child who appeared to be around four or five years old. He glanced around and spotted Jiang Shuangling.

As he approached, Jiang Che felt a bit nervous and tightly held his sister’s hand. Jiang Shuangling gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

With his exceptionally long and straight legs, Qi Heng reached them in just a few steps. Jiang Shuangling’s gaze fell on the child in his arms.

He was a rosy-cheeked little boy, obviously well-cared-for in this era where such care was rare. He wore a pristine blue outfit without any patches, and bore a resemblance of about three or four points to Qi Heng in his features.

Compared to his father’s stern countenance, this little fellow held his head high like a young lion, with an expression of displeasure written all over his face. When he saw Jiang Shuangling and her brother, the lion-like fur around his head seemed to bristle even more, if he had any lion’s fur.

It had to be admitted, this father-son duo was quite striking.

Qi Heng glanced at Jiang Shuangling and introduced in a subdued tone, “Qi Yue.”

His tone was as bland as his stern expression, carrying a restrained coldness that was oddly pleasant to the ears.

Jiang Shuangling held Jiang Che in her arms and, mimicking Qi Heng’s cold tone, said lightly, “Jiang Che.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Jiang Che: “???”

Curiously, Jiang Che turned his head to look at his sister. At this moment, Jiang Shuangling couldn’t maintain her expression any longer and smiled as she waved her hand in front of Qi Yue. “Hello there, little comrade Qi Yue.”

— I’m your newly appointed stepmother.

The four-year-old Qi Yue turned his head away and gave a disdainful “hmph!”

Jiang Shuangling didn’t take his reaction seriously. After all, which child would be happy to see a stepmother? Getting snubbed would be odd.

She remained indifferent.

She wasn’t about to pour her heart and soul into being a stepmother, nor was she inclined to show excessive warmth to this stepson of hers.

Jiang Shuangling wasn’t a native of this era, lacking the fervor towards strangers that characterized it. She was naturally reserved and didn’t have much to say to unfamiliar people.

Furthermore, considering things from another perspective, if Jiang Shuangling were the stepson instead, having a stepmother who was overly eager to please upon their first meeting would only make her feel uneasy. After all, such excessive kindness often concealed ulterior motives.

Treating the situation as one would with any other child seemed appropriate. If they got along well, great. If not, should she aim for mutual respect like with this father-son duo?

Additionally, divorcing from a military marriage might not be easy, she pondered.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

She wanted to stay by her husband’s side a bit longer. For now, leaving wasn’t an option, especially in this era where introductions were crucial. Even if she were to leave eventually, it couldn’t be due to her fault. She needed Qi Heng’s help to ensure her brother and herself were well taken care of.

Qi Heng, a man of few words, bought train tickets for the four of them to the military base, carrying the child in his arms.

After Jiang Shuangling boarded the train, she discovered a significant challenge.

The base they were heading to was in another province, meaning they had to travel through one, covering over a thousand kilometers. By regular train, it would take about six hours, but in this era’s slow-moving green trains, it would take much longer…

20 hours.

Jiang Shuangling cast a peculiar glance at Qi Heng sitting beside her, thinking: Do you have a hole in your head?

After holding back for a while, until even Qi Heng couldn’t bear her gaze and looked at her, Jiang Shuangling spoke up, “Why did you go through all this trouble to come here and…?”

Her implication was clear: Qi Heng could have easily found a suitable girl near the base to marry, so why bother coming all the way here?

Qi Heng understood her question, but he seemed to find her curiosity uninteresting. With his eyes closed, he uttered two words: “Along the way.”

Jiang Shuangling: “???”

Along… the way?

Did that mean her location happened to be on his route to take the child to the base?

She was the bride brought back along the way.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

She couldn’t help but think, “Isn’t this a bit too coincidental?”

Thank you! It’s true, without that decision, she wouldn’t have caught this convenient ride.

Even though Jiang Shuangling benefited from the situation, she still couldn’t help but think that Qi Heng had a typical “dog-man” mindset.

No matter how good-looking, he was still a “dog-man.”

You marry just anyone, and you’ll face consequences!

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

On second thought, she also had her own motives.

They were quite a match for each other.

They had bought seated tickets, and they sat side by side in a row. Jiang Shuangling held Jiang Che in her lap by the window seat, while Qi Heng sat beside her, holding the child.

The train chugged forward with a clunking sound.

Jiang Shuangling watched as the train departed from the station, the green rice fields and continuous mountains passing by in a blur. Occasionally, white pear blossoms and pink peach blossoms dotted the fields.

The wind lifted a few strands of her hair, and Jiang Shuangling raised her hand to tuck them behind her ear.

Jiang Che, on his first trip away from home and first train ride, was filled with curiosity. His eyes darted around, alternating between looking out the window and observing the passengers in the carriage, fidgeting throughout the journey.

Qi Heng rested with his eyes closed, while Qi Yue sat restlessly in his arms, propping his hands against his father’s chest. He pulled out a box of White Rabbit milk candies, peeled off the wrapper, and popped a milky candy into his mouth. Soon, a strong aroma of milk filled the air.

Before leaving, his grandmother and second aunt had prepared plenty of candies, peach pastries, and milk powder for him.

The scent was enticing, and Jiang Che, sitting beside him, was drawn to it, curiously eyeing the White Rabbit candy in his hand.

Jiang Shuangling followed his gaze and looked at Qi Yue, who was focused on his candy.

With his head lowered, Qi Yue’s lips puckered slightly as he took another candy, peeling off the outer layer to reveal the translucent rice paper inside.

Qi Heng suddenly half-opened his eyes, glanced to the side, grabbed a handful of candies from the box, and spread them out in front of the siblings.

Jiang Che looked at the blue White Rabbit candy, glanced at his sister, and hesitantly reached out his small hand to take one.

Before his hand could touch the candy wrapper, Qi Yue, sitting on Qi Heng’s lap, suddenly grabbed his hand and snatched the candy back. “These are all mine! Mine! Grandma gave them to me, and only I can eat them!”

The child’s speech was unclear, but his tone carried a hint of stubborn dominance.

The atmosphere immediately tensed up.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

Well, this is awkward.

Fortunately, Jiang Che was always an obedient and sensible child. He didn’t get upset or cry. Instead, he turned to look at his sister, his face showing a hint of confusion.

Jiang Shuangling smiled awkwardly at Qi Heng and said, “Thank you.”

Then, she lowered her head and took out a paper-wrapped package, slowly opening it to comfort Jiang Che, “Ah Che, let’s eat some mini milk cakes.”

The “mini milk cakes” she referred to were honey egg cakes she made herself, with a bit of buffalo milk she had exchanged for at the farm. These cakes, with the added “extra ingredients” by Jiang Shuangling, had an extremely rich egg and milk flavor, layered with unique honey peach syrup.

In short, they were milky, sweet, rich, and fragrant.

Those kinds of cakes could really make you feel overwhelmed if you eat too many.

But kids love this type of dessert, and the taste is nice. It’s like tiramisu or other desserts—you only need a small piece at a time, or it gets too rich.

Jiang Shuangling, with her background in art, liked to make desserts with unique shapes. She intentionally sprinkled dried pink peach petals on top, making them look particularly beautiful and novel.

Jiang Che’s eyes lit up when he saw the honey milk cakes. He hugged one slowly and savored it.

He liked to take small bites of the cake, letting it melt in his mouth with his tongue. He could spend a long time eating just one small piece.

This time, it was Qi Yue who watched him eat with curiosity, forgetting to chew the milk candy in his mouth, his little face pouting.

Seeing this, Jiang Shuangling generously offered him a piece, but the little guy didn’t appreciate it, turning his head away with his nose in the air.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

This kid probably had a talent for being an underground party member, exceptionally steadfast and unwilling to accept the enemy’s sweet talk.

Jiang Shuangling then handed the milk cake in her hand to Qi Heng, using her eyes to signal him to coax their child to eat.

Qi Heng understood her look and fed the milk cake to the child.

Qi Yue looked up at Qi Heng, hmphed, and still refused to eat.

Seeing his behavior, Jiang Shuangling knew this kid was probably a spoiled brat who needed to be pampered and coaxed by adults.

Clearly wanting to eat, but still preferring to be cajoled by adults before complying.

Finding this scene amusing, Jiang Shuangling took out another milk cake for herself and watched the show, curious to see how Qi Heng, this stoic military officer, would coax the child.

She decided to learn from him.

Taking a bite of the soft milk cake, Jiang Shuangling watched as Qi Heng tried to feed the child again, who remained stubborn, continuing to turn his head away. She stifled a laugh, thinking he should try to coax the child gently with his actions and voice. But the next moment, she saw Qi Heng feed… himself with the cake.

…

He swallowed it with a stern face, frowning with each bite, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter, probably finding it too sweet and rich.

Qi Yue, still being stubborn, stared blankly as Qi Heng ate the cake.

Jiang Shuangling: “…?”

Alright, he’s definitely not good at coaxing children.

He’s a stubborn-dad charm.

With no more cake left, Qi Heng continued to feign sleep with his eyes closed.

Jiang Shuangling had no experience raising children and didn’t know how to handle the situation. To prevent any further incidents, she simply leaned to the side, holding her obedient brother, and turned to the window. She took out a comic book and began telling him stories.