When Qin Zhao woke up again, it was already daybreak.
The room was silent, and the bed beside him was empty. Qin Zhao moved his fingers and felt something warm and soft pressing on his arm.
A faint scent of milk wafted through his nose. The little thing sensed that he had woken up and crawled two steps towards him.
Qin Zhao took the kid into his arms and looked down at his pair of round, dark eyes: "Are you awake?"
“…Ah!” The little fish waved his arms, stretched out his chubby palms, and gently pressed them on Qin Zhao’s forehead.
The touch on his forehead was soft. Qin Zhao looked at the boy's serious expression and reacted.
This kid is imitating his father.
Qin Zhao had been having recurring fever for some time, and Jing Li often used this method to test the temperature of his forehead. When Xiao Yuzai saw this, he started to do the same.
The little guy may not know what this action means, but it is his way of caring about Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao felt so soft in his heart that he took the kid's chubby hand and rubbed it against his cheek: "Daddy is fine, don't worry."
"Eey—daddy!"
Qin Zhao paused.
Mr. Qin, who was always calm, was stunned for a long time: "Are you calling me?"
The little fish tilted his head: "Eh?"
Qin Zhao sat up and picked up the little fish cub, with a look of joy on his face: "Call again, call again for Daddy to hear."
“Ah… Ah!”
"Why do you want daddy to hold you so early in the morning? Didn't I tell you that daddy is still sick?" When Jing Li pushed the door open, he happened to see Qin Zhao holding the baby fish.
He walked to the bedside and checked the temperature of Qin Zhao's forehead: "It's gone down."
The tone was lukewarm and no emotion could be heard.
Qin Zhao looked at Jing Li's expression and said nothing.
His memory still lingers on last night when Xiao Yue sent him home. If he remembered correctly, Xiaoyu seemed quite lively at that time
I don’t know whether he disappeared after the night passed.
Qin Zhao came up with a solution in an instant.
He lifted the cub in his arms and said, "Fish cub just called me daddy."
The cub was lifted up by the armpits, and was a little confused about being suspended in the air. He subconsciously kicked his two short legs and looked up at his other father: "Ah..."
Qin Zhao: “…”
"No, that's not what you called me just now." Qin Zhao frowned slightly.
The fish cub's eyes showed a troubled look: "Ah, ah..."
"It's still not right." Qin Zhao patiently taught him, "It's daddy, try calling him again."
Fish cub: “Yeah…”
Jing Li: “Pfft.”
"He really screamed just now." Qin Zhao held the kid back in his arms and sighed, "This silly boy..."
"I know." Jing Li turned around to help Qin Zhao get his clothes, and said with a smile, "He called it last night, but he probably isn't very experienced yet, so he needs some more time to learn."
"Really?" Qin Zhao raised his eyebrows and looked down at the kid in his arms who was playing with his hair. "It seems that I missed the first time my son called me daddy. Tell me, why am I so unlucky in this matter?"
"You didn't drink alcohol or have a fever last night, and you won't miss it."
Jing Li snorted unhappily, took the kid over, and threw a coat to Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao didn't rush to get dressed. He patted the bed beside him and said, "Come here."
Jing Li sat down next to him, and then was hugged from behind.
"It's my fault." Qin Zhao rested his head on Jing Li's shoulder, his breath spraying on his neck.
The voice was deadly soft.
Jing Li's ears felt numb and he turned his head away.
This guy has been sick so many times but he has never learned his lesson. However, the methods of coaxing him have become more and more skilled.
"Is it really born?" Qin Zhao looked at his expression, raised his hand to cover the little fish's eyes, and leaned over to kiss Jing Li on the side of his face. "This time it was an accident, it will never happen again, believe me."
Of course Jing Li is not really alive.
In fact, his anger had almost disappeared last night, but if you really forgive him so easily, who knows what he will do next time.
Jing Li had never quarreled with Qin Zhao, and for a moment he didn't know how to say harsh words, so he just frowned and said fiercely: "If you do this again next time, I will kick you out and lock you up outside."
Very fierce and aggressive.
"Okay." Qin Zhao suppressed his smile and said seriously, "If I do it again, you don't need to chase me away. I will reflect on my mistakes outside the door by myself."
The little fish didn't understand what his two fathers were talking about. He babbled, struggled to break free from Qin Zhao's hand, and smacked his lips.
"It looks like he's hungry." Qin Zhao said.
"I've asked Ah Qi to prepare breakfast." Jing Li stood up holding the fish cub, "Hurry up and wash up, and go eat."
After they had cleaned up and washed up, they went to the front hall together.
As soon as I walked in, I saw someone sitting at the table, eating by himself, as if he was the host of the house and not at all shy.
"Hey, you're finally awake." Xiao Yue greeted them and pointed at the table. "I just bought something outside. I wonder if it suits your taste."
Qin Zhao: “…”
Qin Zhao felt his head ache again. He pressed his forehead and said, "Why are you..."
Why are you here
"It was already late when we came back yesterday. Thank you very much, brother, for agreeing to let me stay overnight at your house." Xiao Yue still looked calm and composed, and spoke slowly.
Qin Zhao was silent.
Jing Li was keenly aware of Qin Zhao's mood changes. He held the fish cub in one hand and tugged at the corner of Qin Zhao's clothes with the other hand: "What's wrong?"
"It's okay." Qin Zhao took a deep breath and said calmly, "Sit down."
Qin Zhao was so smart that he understood the whole story from Xiao Yue's words.
The general was obviously very interested in his current life. He took advantage of his illness and coma last night and tricked his daughter Xiaoyu into staying at his house.
But he couldn't expose it now.
Otherwise, his relationship with Xiao Yue would be difficult to explain.
Qin Zhao held Jing Li's hand and led him to the table and sat down.
What was placed on the table was no longer the porridge and flatbreads they used to eat, but a variety of exquisite pastries and hot porridge.
There were several that Jing Li couldn't even name.
Their life is much better now than when they were in the village. They are not rich, but at least they don't have to worry about food and clothing. However, due to Qin Zhao's recent relapse of illness, the family has tried to save as much as possible on food and clothing, and have not seen meat for a long time.
These things...
It doesn't look cheap.
Jing Li glanced at Qin Zhao subconsciously.
Qin Zhao didn't bother to be polite with Xiao Yue and directly served a bowl of shredded chicken porridge in front of Jing Li.
"Eat it."
Jing Li let out an "oh", scooped up a spoonful of liquid, blew it cool, and fed it to the little fish that had been whimpering and crying in his arms.
Jing Li was busy feeding his child, and Qin Zhao was not idle either, occasionally picking up a piece of cake and scooping a spoonful of hot porridge to feed him. His behavior was natural and skillful, which made Xiao Yue feel a little sad.
Xiao Yue coughed lightly and said something else: "Your son looks exactly like you."
Qin Zhao didn't even raise his head: "Yeah."
"..." Xiao Yue remained silent, and then said, "It's just that your personality is a little different. You were never like this before..."
Before he could finish his words, Qin Zhao kicked him hard under the table.
Xiao Yue was shocked to realize that he had said the wrong thing.
He is still pretending to be just like Qin Zhao just now. He shouldn't say such things.
Xiao Yue secretly thought that a hangover was indeed a bad thing, so he quickly shut up and subconsciously looked at the expression of Qin Zhao's young husband.
Fortunately, the latter was concentrating on feeding the cub and didn't seem to notice what they were saying.
After breakfast, Jing Li took Xiao Yuzai to the yard to play in the snow, while Qin Zhao made tea by the window.
"Why didn't I know before that you have the skill to make tea?" Xiao Yue took a sip of tea and shook his head, "It's a pity that although your skill is good, the tea is too bad."
"That's about right." Qin Zhao said calmly, "How long are you going to stay at my house? Aren't you in a hurry to go back to the barracks?"
Xiao Yue was unhappy: "Why are you rushing me? Is this Mr. Qin's way of entertaining guests?"
"I'm not in a hurry. I just want to remind you not to forget to compensate me before you leave." Qin Zhao poured himself a cup of tea, speaking slowly.
Xiao Yue: "What silver?"
Qin Zhao took out a piece of letter paper from his sleeve and pushed it in front of Xiao Yue: "Last night you kicked and broke three flower pots and two ceramic cups in my house, and smashed the flower bed in front of the study. This is the silver you need to compensate me at double the price."
Xiao Yue was shocked: "Those junk of yours are worth ten taels???"
Qin Zhao: "If you don't believe me, I can take you to the market to ask."
Xiao Yue: “…”
The great general who protected the country and the former regent made a special trip to the market just for ten taels of silver.
This picture looks weird no matter how you look at it.
"Okay, it's my bad luck." Xiao Yue slapped a banknote on the table and said disdainfully, "It's just ten taels of silver. This general won't fight with you."
Qin Zhao winked and asked Ah Qi to come up and take away the banknotes.
Xiao Yue cursed and muttered a few words, and the laughter of children came through the window. He pushed the window open a little and saw Xiao Yuzi wearing a red coat, running unsteadily across the snow.
The kid bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, and threw it hard, and the broken snow flew all over the yard.
"If it were in the past, I would never have imagined that you could live such a life." Xiao Yue suddenly felt emotional.
Qin Zhao: "What day?"
"Marry a wife, have children, and take care of the daily necessities of life." Xiao Yue fixed his eyes on the small figure in the yard. "People like us play with power, and our hands are stained with blood. It is God's blessing that we have not ended up with our heads and bodies torn apart and abandoned by our friends and relatives. How dare we dream of anything else?"
Qin Zhao smiled and said, "So, God has been kind to me."
"It's more than just being generous, it's clearly being too good to you." Xiao Yue sighed, "I'm not a child anymore, I don't know when I can find a wife as beautiful as the one in your family."
Qin Zhao: "Then you might as well hope that everything goes well for me, and that you can return to your homeland as soon as possible without having to hide in the frontier."
"I hope so."
Xiao Yue laughed out loud and raised his glass to clink with Qin Zhao's.
The two of them had known each other for many years and could be considered old friends, but unfortunately they eventually became strangers because of power. But in the past, Xiao Yue would never have thought that he would be so calm and peaceful to sit down and drink tea with Qin Zhao.
Not to mention working together towards the same goal.
Xiao Yue raised his eyes and looked at the person sitting opposite him.
He had never seen Qin Shu like this.
Gentle, calm, as if all sharp edges have been smoothed away.
But he just felt that Qin Shu was more terrifying than before.
It's like the calm before the storm.
Suddenly there was a noise outside the window. Xiao Yue turned his head to look over and saw that the little fish had come to the window at some point and was sticking its head out to look inside.
The little fish was lying in the corner, with a little bit of white dust from the wall rubbed onto the front of his clothes.
The half-open window sill was much smaller than he was, and the kid jumped a few times on the spot without even touching the edge of the window.
Even though this kid looked exactly like Qin Zhao's annoying face, Xiao Yue couldn't help but feel soft at heart when he saw his cute appearance, and even his smile became gentle: "What's up, do you want to play with uncle?"
The little fish looked up at him and blinked blankly.
Xiao Yue simply opened the window completely, leaned over the window sill, stretched out his hand to him, and said kindly: "Come here, uncle will hold you."
The little fish didn't move. He just stared at Xiao Yue without blinking. Suddenly, his mouth pursed and he burst into tears.
Xiao Yue: “?”
The little fish cub cried so hard that the two people in the room were at a loss. Before they could react, the little cub turned around and ran out, throwing himself into Jing Li's arms not far away.
Crying even more sadly.
"… "
In the end, it was Qin Zhao who reacted first and said to Xiao Yue, "I can count on one hand the number of times my son has cried since he was born. You are really good at scaring him to tears with just a smile."
Xiao Yue: “…”