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During the afternoon, Ji Yan received a call from teacher Su Yue. Her voice sounded anxious as if she was about to cry.
“Battalion commander Ji, Xiao Zhuo is missing! We can’t find him no matter where we search.”
Ji Yan’s expression went cold, “When did he go missing? Is it just him?”
“No, no, Xiao Zhuo and Wen Nuo are both missing. They were still here at lunchtime. They were gone by nap time. We still can’t find them. We have called Xiao Zhuo’s mother, but no one is picking up. We knocked on your house’s door, but there was no one there. Wen Nuo’s mother said that she hasn’t seen them either. We really don’t know where the children have gone!”
When Ji Yan heard Wen Nuo was also missing, he started thinking. Ji Xiao Zhuo was a child with property. At least, he was most of the time. If there wasn’t a particular reason, he certainly wouldn’t randomly run off and make people worry about him.
If there were any particularly important issues recently, it … it would be Tang Tang who had fallen sick.
Ji Yan had guessed where the little one had gone.
As a result, Ji Yan rushed home during the break. When he opened the front door, it was extremely quiet inside. It was like no one was home. But when he opened the door of the bedroom, Ji Yan saw the two children napping peacefully beside Tang Tang. Both children each held onto one of Tang Tang’s hands. They didn’t wake up Tang Tang. Instead, they quietly accompanied her.
The scene made Ji Yan feel anger and fondness.
Stealthily, Ji Yan went out of the room to give the children’s teacher a call and take the afternoon off for them. After that, he entered the bedroom again and stood by the bed as he stared at the children.
When the two children noticed Ji Yan’s arrival, they instantly opened their eyes. Immediately, Wen Nuo climbed off the bed flustered and stood on the floor. Her hands were intertwined together as she looked down apprehensively. While Ji Xiao Zhuo swiftly changed his expression after he got over the shock. He grinned towards Ji Yan like he was trying to butter up to him and said stickily, “Daddy, you’re back ~”
Ji Yan pointed at Xiao Zhuo before pointing to the door and started to walk out of the bedroom.
Ji Xiao Zhuo’s eyes turned. Then, he got off the bed and wore his shoes before getting Wen Nuo’s shoes and passed it to her so she could put them back on. Seeing her looking afraid and not knowing what to do, he patted her head and consoled, “Nothing will happen. I’m here! This was my idea, so it’s not your fault. My daddy won’t punish you.”
Immediately, Wen Nuo shook her head. She was also wrong and should be punished. He shouldn’t be the only one getting punished.
“Ok, now, you don’t need to worry when a man like me is present.” Ji Xiao Zhuo said as he pulled on Wen Nuo’s hand and walked out. Then he carefully shut the door behind him.
Ji Yan was sitting on the sofa. Ji Xiao Zhuo and Wen Nuo stood in front of him. Both of them simultaneously lowered their heads, looking remorseful. Of course, Wen Nuo was really sorry, while Ji Xiao Zhuo was only pretending.
Whenever Ji Xiao Zhuo did something wrong, he liked to strike first. So before Ji Yan said anything, he took the initiative to apologise first, “I’m sorry, daddy. We are wrong, but I wanted to come back and take a look at mummy. Yesterday, mummy slept the whole day. She hasn’t spoken to me in two days. I really miss mummy.”
Ji Yan was used to Xiao Zhuo’s routine and said, “Then did you know how worried your teacher was after finding out you had disappeared? Ji Xiao Zhuo, that kind of actions are irresponsible.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo bit his lips. He was truly remorseful this time, “Sorry, you can punish me, daddy, but don’t punish Nuo Nuo. She was forced into it.”
When Wen Nuo heard that, she shook her head with all her might. She was also wrong. She was not forced into it.
Oh, a hero saving the beauty, eh. But without even thinking, Ji Yan knew that it was definitely Ji Xiao Zhuo who came up with the idea. Wen Nuo wouldn’t dare to do such a thing by herself. The little one had led the adorable little girl astray!
“Certainly, there will be a punishment. But before that, tell me how did you run off from the nursery?” During the school day, the nursery kept their doors locked and the lock was located quite high on the door. The children wouldn’t be tall enough to reach it.
At this moment, Ji Xiao Zhuo obediently explained how they broke out of ‘prison’, “I have seen it before. Every day, the teachers would hang the lock but they don’t lock it properly. I lifted Wen Nuo up so she could open the door. Then we hung the lock again and came back.”
This brat … Ji Yan couldn’t be bothered asking anymore and simply said, “Alright, since you’re accepting your punishment, you’ll be writing a hundred-word self-reflection. You can use pinyin for any words you don’t know how to write. Give me a copy tomorrow and a copy to your teacher.”
“Alright, daddy.”
“The last thing is that you can’t eat any snacks for the next three months.” Snacks were the main way to control him.
“….” Ji Xiao Zhuo was speechless and his whole body froze. The expression on his face looked like he had nothing to live for.
Seeing Ji Xiao Zhuo looking so pained, Wen Nuo was extremely worried. She glanced at the expressionless Ji Yan, and her heart trembled. Even though she was very scared, she mustered her courage, grabbed Ji Yan’s sleeve, and shook it. She was appealing to him with her eyes to not punish Ji Xiao Zhuo with that.
With a sway of his sleeves and being looked at by such watery eyes, Ji Yan softened. He never felt like this before in front of Ji Xiao Zhuo. All of Ji Xiao Zhuo’s appeals and tantrums were all useless with Ji Yan.
Was this the difference between boys and girls? If this little girl was his daughter, he wouldn’t have the heart to punish her like that…
“Alright, the last punishment can be ignored for Nuo Nuo.” Ji Yan canceled the last punishment.
Ji Xiao Zhuo widened his eyes in shock. His eyes were filled with suspicion, surprise, and happiness, etc. Finally, he moved his gaze to Wen Nuo, and his eyes were filled with admiration.
Wen Nuo let out a small smile, and her eyes crinkled. Her smile made Ji Xiao Zhuo smile as well. Forgetting everything else, he happily patted her shoulder, and his eyes were glowing in high spirits. It was like he was saying, ‘See, nothing will happen when I’m present, right?’
That pleased expression on Xiao Zhuo’s face made Ji Yan want to beat him up. It seemed like he shouldn’t be too kind, so he pointed at a corner, “Even though the last punishment can be ignored, you still need to stand and face the wall for half an hour!”
“Ah….” Ji Xiao Zhuo’s pleased smile froze on his face. After confirming that his daddy was not joking, he sighed, then he turned around and slowly walked to the corner. With familiarity, he stood still and faced the wall.
In response, Wen Nuo also went to stand next to Ji Xiao Zhuo and accompanied him.
Ji Xiao Zhuo frowned. He stared at her meaningfully, expressing: ‘What are you doing here? You didn’t get punished. Hurry up and leave.’
Wen Nuo shook her head lightly. She unwavering stood with him.
“You’re not being good!” Ji Xiao Zhuo pretended to be angry. He wanted to scare her away.
However, Wen Nuo still shook her head and refused to leave.
In the end, Ji Xiao Zhuo couldn’t do anything about it. He thought that girls were hard to deal with.
As Ji Yan watched the children sharing hardships together, the corner of his lips lifted.
“Oh, what’s this? Why are the two children at home, ah?” The regimental commander’s wife, who had gone home to get soup, came back and saw the children reflecting while standing and facing the wall.
“They secretly came back to take a look at Tang Tang. Sao Zi can go home and rest in the evening and let them keep watch.” After checking the time, Ji Yan stood up to leave. He didn’t watch the children go through their punishment.
“It’s fine, I’m here. You can go and do your thing.” The regimental commander’s wife watched Ji Yan leave. Then she walked to the children and beamed, “Got punished?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo winked.
“Let’s see if you dare to randomly run off next time.” The regimental commander’s wife patted on his head, “It’s ok now. Your daddy has left. You don’t need to keep standing there.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo shook his head, “No. Daddy said to stand for half an hour. A man shouldn’t go back on his words.”
“You even know that?” The regimental commander’s wife was very amused, “Alright, you’re a little man. You can stand there for the full 30 minutes, but Nuo Nuo is a girl. She doesn’t need to stand.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo nodded while Wen Nuo disagreed.
“Wen Nuo Nuo, if you don’t listen, then I won’t like you!” Ji Xiao Zhuo threatened the little girl with puffed cheeks.
The little girl was a bit afraid, but she stubbornly stood still without moving. She reached out to pull on his sleeves to make him stop being angry.
The anger Ji Xiao Zhuo had mustered disappeared all at once, “You are so silly. What can you do without me, ah, so worrying ~”
Wen Nuo smiled sweetly.
The regimental commander’s wife couldn’t restrain a smile. She thought these two children were really amusing and decided she shouldn’t disturb them. Then she went to the bedroom to wake Tang Tang up and let her drink some soup. But when Tang Tang came out, the children’s presence made her heart skip a beat. After understanding the situation, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Tang Tang purposely drank the soup really slowly, so by the time she finished the soup, the children’s punishment had also ended.
Immediately, Ji Xiao Zhuo ran towards Tang Tang and threw himself into her embrace and coquettishly said, “I really missed you, mummy.”
Tang Tang kissed his forehead and replied, “Mummy also missed you.”
“Mummy, you can’t get ill anymore. I was really worried.”
“Ok, mummy won’t get sick anymore. Mummy will always be healthy from now on.”
After experiencing the oppressive treatment from his daddy, Ji Xiao Zhuo was soothed by his mummy’s tenderness. And like a little pig, he kept nuzzling in Tang Tang’s embrace, which made her feel ticklish.
When Tang Tang saw Wen Nuo staring at them without blinking, she waved at her, “Come here, Nuo Nuo!”
Instantly, Wen Nuo went closer to them, and Tang Tang also took Nuo Nuo into her embrace. She gave a kiss on Nuo Nuo’s forehead, “Thank you for visiting auntie. Nuo Nuo is a good girl.”
Wen Nuo’s eyes crinkled into little crescents again. She put her hand in her pocket and fished around before taking a sweet and held it in front of Tang Tang.
Tang Tang was surprised, “Is this for auntie?”
Wen Nuo nodded.
Tang Tang took the sweet, accepting the child’s goodwill, “Thank you, Nuo Nuo.”
The little girl became even happier and smiled wider. Her teeth were so white that it was shining.
Once the children left and started building the model, the regimental commander’s wife ruefully said, “That girl is really well-behaved, but she has such a family. If she was in a normal family, anyone would raise her like a princess.”
Tang Tang agreed and thought, who wouldn’t, ah. She was such an obedient and clever child. If she was her daughter, Tang Tang would dote on her tremendously.
“Look at the little girl’s clothes. It clear that it’s not right for her. It can fit two little girls. Can’t they buy clothing that fits her better? Why is battalion commander Wen not doing anything? Is she not his biological daughter!?” The regimental commander’s wife was especially angry. She couldn’t stand seeing little children suffer.
Wen Nuo’s clothing was not bad. They were branded clothes, but they didn’t fit her well. They were too large for her. Especially her trousers, they kept falling down, and the trouser leg was rolled up. Even her shoes didn’t fit her, if Wen Nuo ran too fast, it would easily come off. Compared to Ji Xiao Zhuo’s exquisite clothes that fitted perfectly on him, the little girl looked increasingly pitiful.
