Qiao Nan carried her books to one side and sat down to catch up on her studies.

  Well, her husband was home. Qiao Nan’s study plan was now lagging by half a day.

  Honestly, in front of Qiao Nan, this student, even the soldier Zhai Sheng was not considered a busy man. Qiao Nan was the truly busy one. She very much wished that there could be two of her or she was a superhuman with three heads and six arms.

  When Qiao Nan finished half of the tasks that she planned to do today, Zhai Sheng came home.

  After Zhai Sheng entered the bedroom, he walked behind Qiao Nan, reached out his hands, and hugged her from behind.

  As soon as he exerted strength with his iron-like arms, Qiao Nan’s body was lifted into the air, although she was still holding on to a pen.

  Qiao Nan did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Didn’t we just…… in the afternoon? My body is still aching now. Brother Zhai, don’t be too much. Overindulgence is not good for health. Brother Zhai, I’m doing this for your own good.” Of course, her studies were also very important.

  “Do you think that a few times in the afternoon could satisfy me?” Zhai Sheng said with disdain. If Nan Nan had not fainted, he would not have stopped.

  To Zhai Sheng, the three-hour torture in the afternoon was only considered half-full.

  It was the same for every human being. If one was a hundred percent full or overate a particular food, one would become sick of that food for some time thereafter.

  It would be different if one was already very interested in the new food and had been craving for it for a long time.

  When he was starving so badly that anything would taste good, he actually tasted something that he loved most.

  He had wanted to fill his tummy without reservation but was eventually barely full.

  As such, his interest in this kind of food immediately multiplied.

  Now, Zhai Sheng was starving so badly that his pair of eyes was emitting green light. He really had the impulse to tear Qiao Nan apart and completely devour her into his stomach.

  \r \r \r

  “Don’t.” When she was lying on the bed once again, Qiao Nan was so anxious that she blushed badly. “Although the three babies are only over two months old, I can’t guarantee that I won’t become pregnant now. We don’t have condoms in our house either. You’re putting me in a difficult position. You don’t want me to go for an abortion if I become pregnant, right?”

  Qiao Nan was inexperienced in this area. However, she heard many cases whereby abortion was bad for health.

  Most importantly, to someone who especially loved children, abortion was not only harmful to health but also cruel.

  If she did not do that, she would be hindering her husband’s future.

  Hence, before anything of such happened, they had to think of ways and try their best to prevent it, which would put them in a dilemma.

  The two led a couple’s life after marriage, and Zhai Sheng had been letting nature take its course. If Qiao Nan were to become pregnant, she would give birth.

  As such, until now, things such as condom or contraception medicine could not be found in the Zhai family’s residence.

  In the afternoon, Zhai Sheng’s actions were too fast. Qiao Nan lost her sanity very soon and did not remember all these.

  However, Qiao Nan was very sober now. She could not help but be a wet blanket at this moment.

  “Don’t worry. Unless there is a problem with the surgery, you won’t become pregnant anymore.” After knowing that Qiao Nan was not rejecting his advances, that aloofness beneath Zhai Sheng’s eyes disappeared in a flash.

  Recently, some bad things had happened in the army. As a bystander, Zhai Sheng heard many things.

  No matter how confident Zhai Sheng was, he had seen many of these things and they happened to people so close to him. It was impossible for Zhai Sheng not to think much of it.

  Fortunately, the young lady that he had fallen in love with had always been the best in this world. She had never let him down.

  When she heard Zhai Sheng mentioned that she would not be pregnant anymore, the hands that Qiao Nan used to block Zhai Sheng were not so firm anymore. However, she was still avoiding Zhai Sheng’s hot and searing kiss. “Surgery failure? What do you mean? Why did you suddenly mention the surgery and that I won’t become pregnant anymore?”

  Not many people were aware that she was married and had given birth to three children.

  Typically, since she already had three children, she should go through the procedure of an IUD insertion.

  The problem was that the three babies were still little and Zhai Sheng was hardly at home. Hence, Qiao Nan could not spare the time to do that.

  Zhai Sheng pressed Qiao Nan down with his body forcefully, opened Qiao Nan’s body, and sank in.

  When Qiao Nan lost her sanity once again and fell into the madness and passion brought by Zhai Sheng, he heard Zhai Sheng’s deep, hoarse and sexy voice whispering into her ears. “I underwent ligation.”

  When Qiao Nan was giving birth, Zhai Sheng did not manage to fulfill his wish of returning to Qiao Nan’s side to watch their children born together.

  After Qiao Nan gave birth to Er Bao, she fainted as her energy was drained. San Bao almost suffocated in her womb and caused the death of both the mother and baby. Zhai Hua did not hide any of these from Zhai Sheng.

  How could Zhai Sheng not know what Zhai Hua’s intent was?

  Initially, when they were together, Zhai Hua strongly objected to it. She had doubted Nan Nan’s sincerity and motives and was afraid that he would be too naive and had been taken in by Nan Nan.

  Now, Zhai Hua defended and protected Nan Nan wholeheartedly. On the contrary, she was picky on him, this biological brother, and sided with Nan Nan for every matter.

  Since a long time ago, he knew that the lady that he had chosen was awesome and the best in the world.

  True enough, reality had proven it all.

  Zhai Sheng could not come back to keep Qiao Nan company when she was in pain during childbirth. As such, in other areas, if he had a choice, Zhai Sheng would rather take the pain than let Qiao Nan suffer any of it.

  To him, three children were more than enough.

  After knowing that he had three children, Zhai Sheng returned to the camp as soon as he had completed his mission. The first place that he left for was not his home but the hospital in the army to undergo ligation surgery.

  Zhai Sheng was not even willing to let Qiao Nan do a minor surgery such as IUD insertion. Why would he do something that would harm Qiao Nan due to his overindulgence and impulse on the spur of a moment? If he made Qiao Nan pregnant, she could only endure the pain in her heart and carry out an abortion, which was very harmful to her health.

  Today, in the middle of the night, the three babies woke up in hunger. They cried and kicked up a fuss but Zhai Hua did not appear.

  Zhai Sheng was already home. Of course, she would not join in the fun.

  It was just nice. Zhai Sheng should experience for himself how tough it was to take care of the three babies, lest he be led astray by the complicated world outside or succumb to temptation.

  After returning to the capital, Zhai Hua spent less time in the army but it did not mean that she did not feel the difference between the capital and Ping Cheng.

  After entering the central government, they encountered people and matters that were more complicated and corrupted than that of Ping Cheng. There were all kinds of means and tricks, only waiting to get you.

  Corruption was rampant as were forming of coalition and allies.

  That was purely the framing tactics used by political opponents. They utilized such corrupted means to numb their revolutionary wills.

  She had not mentioned these matters to Qiao Nan before.

  1188 Quick Temper

  However, she had been deeply worried that Zhai Sheng would commit a moral mistake due to temptation.

  Regardless of whether she was being paranoid, it would not be too wrong to be a little more careful or prepare for danger in times of peace.

  Zhai Hua had been thinking more and doing less.

  Only if she did less could Zhai Sheng do more. Zhai Sheng would understand Qiao Nan’s pain then.

  Moreover, this could expend more of Zhai Sheng’s energy lest he come up with other ideas. It would be best if he ran out of steam.

  Zhai Hua could hide these little tricks from Miao Jing but not the men of the Zhai family.

  Old Master Zhai snorted proudly. This was the grandson that he had brought up personally. If Zhai Sheng’s will of revolution was so weak, he would write his name the other way round.

  Zhai Yaohui felt a little helpless. His daughter’s relationship with his daughter-in-law was better than that with his son. How was he going to resolve this?

  Zhai Sheng felt helpless too but it did not bother him. Nan Nan was his wife. Of course, he would devote his heart and mind in taking care of her. There was no need for other people to blindly kick up a fuss.

  Women?

  In his eyes, besides his mother, Nan Nan, and his newborn daughter, the rest of the people were just individuals. Even for Zhai Hua, he only took her as a tomboy who could not be called a woman.

  Besides these three women, the other women had already lost their gender in front of Zhai Sheng. It was quite difficult for Zhai Sheng to commit some mistakes that would be easily committed by other men.

  Zhai Sheng, who had just assumed the role, was not very familiar with being a father. Of course, tonight, Qiao Nan was more tired but she also fell into a deeper sleep than before.

  \r \r \r

  The next morning, Qiao Nan had dark circles under her eyes when Zhai Sheng sent her to school. “I’ll come and fetch you at eleven?”

  Qiao Nan yawned and nodded. “Okay, you can leave the house around eleven to fetch me. Stay at the entrance. Don’t drive the car in.”

  People were already staring at the Land Rover when it arrived at the entrance of the school. If they were to really drive it into the school compound, there would only be more onlookers.

  Hence, Qiao Nan would rather walk for over twenty minutes than letting Zhai Sheng drive into the school to fetch her. Moreover, it was about a twenty-minute walk because the building in which Qiao Nan would be having her classes happened to be nearer to the school entrance.

  “Okay.” Zhai Sheng was very willing to indulge Qiao Nan in such minor matters. All the while, Zhai Sheng acceded to all of Qiao Nan’s requests. He trusted Qiao Nan very much with her college life.

  When he was seated in the car, the sharp eyes of Zhai Sheng noticed that although there were only a few people who passed through the entrance, once his wife appeared, all the men looked at his wife and could not help taking a few more glances.

  As a man, Zhai Sheng could understand these men’s actions. However, as a husband, he could not do so.

  After some time, Zhai Sheng pursed the corners of his lips coldly. After giving birth, Nan Nan was more charismatic than before. It was just that Nan Nan was too naive and did not discover this change at all.

  The age of spring onions and the smile of spring flowers. The purity exuded from her was filled with the seductive charisma of a new wife and the gentleness of a new mother.

  To men, this kind of woman was a fatal attraction.

  Fortunately, Nan Nan was already married to him and she was not living in the school. For the sake of the three babies, besides attending classes, Nan Nan was always studying or taking care of the babies at home. She did not even go to the school library.

  Qiao Nan was totally unaware that after she alighted from the car, Zhai Sheng went home with a tummy full of jealousy just because some people cast her a few more glances.

  In fact, Qiao Nan’s change was not only felt by men but also by women. For example, Xu Shengnan could tell the difference in Qiao Nan when they met upon Qiao Nan’s return to the school.

  Fortunately, Zhai Sheng only noticed that more men were looking at Qiao Nan. If he were to see that even some women liked to be closer to Qiao Nan, Zhai Sheng would probably feel even more jealous. It would be simply a sea of jealousy.

  “Da Bao, call master grandpa.” In the house of the Zhai family, Lin Yuankang, who was seldom willing to leave his own house, did not go anywhere except for the house of the Zhai family. He was carrying the sturdy and ‘heavy-weight’ Da Bao as he teased him to talk.

  Da Bao opened his pair of eyes that were as black and dewy as grapes and blinked at Lin Yuankang. He was drooling as he opened his pinkish and tender tiny mouth.

  As for the master grandpa?

  Sorry, Da Bao expressed that he did not understand what that was. He just opened his mouth and spoke some baby language to Lin Yuankang.

  “Da Bao, you’re so obedient. Right, I am your master grandpa. Next time, I will teach you how to speak English, okay?” Lin Yuankang still bothered so much as if Da Bao really understood his words and vice versa. One old and one young. One word from each. It was funny they seemed to be having a conversation.

  “Okay, okay. Our Da Bao resembles his mother. Both are good kids who love to learn. Master grandpa is very happy.”

  “Yee yee, ya ya……”

  “Is that so? No hurry. You’re still very young now. After a few months…… I will teach you after a few months.”

  “Yee ya……”

  “Da Bao is so obedient. You’re as obedient as your mother. Master grandpa likes Da Bao very much. Do you like master grandpa?”

  “.……” Zhai Hua, who was carrying San Bao, was speechless. So, Elder Lin’s intelligence was the same as that of Da Bao now. Hence, the two were one of a kind and Elder Lin could understand Da Bao’s words?

  It was no wonder Zhai Hua would suspect that. Elder Lin was really chatting as if he was so familiar with Da Bao.

  That affection between the old and the young—they looked as if they were long-lost relatives who finally got to meet each other. No matter what they chatted about, it was filled with deep nostalgia, memories, and feelings of the old times.

  Miao Jing patted Zhai Hua. “You can’t look at Elder Lin in that way. Elder Lin was just teasing and playing with Da Bao. Initially, I feel that Da Bao resembles Zhai Sheng too much. Besides Nan Nan, he doesn’t like to care about others. When Er Bao cries, at most, he will take a glance and then ignore him thereafter. Now, it seems that Da Bao has some affinity with Elder Lin.”

  Elder Lin was right. Da Bao was as smart and likable as his mother. He got along so well with Elder Lin.

  “Hahaha……” Zhai Hua did not comment further on Miao Jing’s words. She reached out her hands and broke the milk bubbles that San Bao blew with her mouth. Initially, San Bao did not bother about it either. She continued to blow her bubbles and was having a great time.

  Who would have known that her auntie would poke one as soon as she blew one? The more bubbles she blew, the faster her auntie poked them.

  As a quick-tempered young lady, San Bao flared up suddenly and she cried.

  The moment San Bao cried, regardless of the Er Bao in Miao Jing’s arms or the Da Bao who was conversing with Elder Lin, both turned their heads and looked at San Bao. Thereafter, their bright and watery big eyes could not help narrowing unhappily as they glared at Zhai Hua with tiger-like expressions.

  1189 Dissatisfied

  “It’s all because of your itchy hands.” Miao Jing patted Zhai Hua’s hands unhappily. “You clearly know that San Bao is very quick-tempered, yet you deliberately be at odds with her. What kind of auntie are you? Carry Er Bao. I will coax San Bao.” To say that Hua Hua had grown up, she had indeed performed quite well when she helped take care of the three babies. To say that she had not grown up, look, San Bao was just a baby who was still drinking milk, yet she was bullied to tears by Hua Hua, this heartless biological auntie.

  Miao Jing could not help doubting whether she could leave her maternal grandchild in her daughter’s care if Zhai Hua were to give birth to a child after marrying Tian Dong.

  When that time came, she hoped that her maternal grandchild would not be badly bullied as compared to San Bao when it fell into the clutches of Hua Hua.

  Zhai Hua smiled, embarrassed. She was just teasing San Bao and did not do it on purpose.

  Both Zhai Hua and Miao Jing did not notice that when the two of them exchanged the babies in their arms, as Zhai Hua was carrying Er Bao over, Er Bao, whose neck was already quite strong, waved his little claws and took the chance to punch Zhai Hua a few times.

  Of course, Er Bao’s strength was so meager that Zhai Hua did not feel any pain. She even thought that Er Bao was giving her a massage as he was afraid that she would be tired. “Mom, did you see that? Er Bao is massaging my hands. His heart really aches for me, this auntie. My obedient Er Bao, let auntie give you a kiss.”

  Muack! Having said that, ignoring Er Bao’s mood, she kissed Er Bao and took huge advantage of him.

  Zhai Sheng, who had just arrived home after sending Qiao Nan to school, happened to see Er Bao’s ‘spectacular’ performance and walked in nonchalantly. “Elder Lin, you’re here? Nan Nan has classes today. She’s not at home.”

  “No issue. I know Nan Nan has classes. I am here to see the three babies.” Lin Yuankang did not mind. He said that he would not get a turn to carry the three babies if his little disciple was around.

  Compared to these old men and women, the three babies favored Nan Nan, their biological mother, most.

  When Qiao Nan was around, the three babies would prefer to stay by her side based on her smell. Even when they were lying down, they did not need anyone to carry. They would also be very good-tempered and not kick up a fuss. Anyway, the activity that they did most nowadays was to shut their eyes and sleep.

  If anyone were to tease the three babies or insisted on carrying them, the three babies would immediately frown and cry for the person to see.

  When their mama was not around, a rare situation would occur whereby the three babies would be awake and want people to hug them. They would not resist being carried and would not mind whoever carried them.

  \r \r \r

  In short, with their mama around, everything else was as superficial as clouds.

  Actually, newborns who were not yet three months old could not recognize people’s faces. They recognized based on feelings and smells.

  After taking a seat, Zhai Sheng changed his mind about carrying San Bao. He carried the most ‘dramatic’ Er Bao instead.

  Zhai Sheng squeezed Er Bao’s tightly clenched fists. The round little fists were very soft, especially the back of his hands as there was a lot of flesh on them. “He has the looks of an elder brother.”

  If Da Bao and Er Bao maintained the same temperaments after they grew up, he did not need to be afraid that someone would bully San Bao then.

  Seemingly sensing that someone else was hugging him now, Er Bao twisted his head and snorted continuously. His little fists loosened and five adorable balls of flesh immediately appeared on the back of his fleshy hands.

  Zhai Sheng touched Er Bao, who was just over two months old and full of baby fat. “Your mother has fed you well. Look at how well you have grown.” These three fleshy ‘lotus roots’ were all Nan Nan’s work and credit.

  At the thought that Qiao Nan seemed to have become slimmer in the waist again, Zhai Sheng said unhappily, “You’ve been well fed and chubby but you’ve tired out your mom and made her skinnier.” These three little jerks……

  Zhai Sheng always gave others the impression that he was a tough and aloof man. When these words came out of his mouth, the few people who heard that felt as if they had been struck by lightning. Was Zhai Sheng’s image going to collapse?

  The newborns had only been awake shortly and Er Bao had already kicked up a fuss for some time. He was opening his tiny mouth and yawning nonstop. As for what his biological father said earlier, Er Bao expressed that he was still very young and did not understand.

  “Let me do it?” Once Er Bao wanted to sleep, Zhai Hua wished to carry him back to coax him to sleep.

  Zhai Sheng did not pass Er Bao back to Zhai Hua. Instead, he placed Er Bao onto his laps. His actions were a little awkward. Soon after, he was gently patting Er Bao with a messy rhythm.

  Fortunately, his actions got smoother after patting a few more times.

  Er Bao was too sleepy. In addition, he was used to the hard and tough hugs by his great-grandfather and grandfather. Hence, Er Bao did not react much in Zhai Sheng’s arms. His chubby and tiny face rubbed Zhai Sheng’s arms a few times and he fell asleep soon after.

  After Er Bao fell asleep, Da Bao and San Bao were also in a daze. Until now, the routine of the three babies had been relatively the same.

  After the three babies went to sleep, of course, the adults put them in the baby cribs and covered them with little blankets.

  When the living hall was quiet again, Lin Yuankang looked at Zhai Sheng. “How is it? After you came back this time, what kind of underhand methods did Peng Yu use on you this time? You couldn’t even make it back in time to see your children being born? You didn’t even attend their full-month celebration.”

  Lin Yuankang was Qiao Nan’s master. He looked at things more from Qiao Nan’s perspective.

  As a college student, Qiao Nan was already married. Zhai Sheng and the Zhai family had taken huge advantage of Qiao Nan. It was Qiao Nan, this young lady, who was too kind and did not take issue with them. Otherwise, which family’s lady would marry so early?

  Fine. He could forget about this. However, Zhai Sheng could not possibly not stay by Qiao Nan’s side and let Qiao Nan bear everything alone, right?

  During her ten months of pregnancy, Zhai Sheng did not even accompany Qiao Nan to any of her medical appointments.

  Giving birth was such a dangerous matter. However, he did not even know where Zhai Sheng was during that time.

  Lin Yuankang accepted Qiao Nan as his disciple because Zhai Sheng acted as the bridge for them.

  The problem was that Lin Yuankang was getting older. He was willful and did not like to reason.

  Lin Yuankang was childless. He took his youngest disciple as his own child. From that day onward, Lin Yuankang did not say it out, but in his heart, he felt very unhappy that Qiao Nan was together with Zhai Sheng.

  He dared to promise that his little disciple would definitely be able to find a man that would not lose to Zhai Sheng after she successfully completed her studies.

  Yes, it seemed that his little disciple had gotten a huge bargain by marrying into the Zhai family. It was as if she had fallen into a nest of good fortune.

  However, he had never thought so. Everything that the Zhai family could provide his little disciple, he could also do the same and even more. With him around, his little disciple did not even need to care about what the Zhai family had.

  After leaving the Zhai family, his little disciple could find someone better.

  Unfortunately, his little disciple was very stubborn. Regardless of how he hinted at her previously, his little disciple would play dumb and divert from the topic. She basically refused to break up with Zhai Sheng.

  Now, she was already married with three children. What could Lin Yuankang say?

  However, looking at Zhai Sheng’s behavior, Lin Yuankang felt suffocated at heart.

  So many people were yearning for him to provide some connections but he was not willing to.

  1190 Create Hindrances

  Finally, he found a little disciple that he liked and wanted to protect. However, the other party did not even give him a chance to do so. As such, he became more dissatisfied with Zhai Sheng.

  At the mention of Peng Yu, there was a slight change in Zhai Sheng’s expression. “I’ve encountered some problems, but, so far, they have already been settled.” Zhai Sheng had met many people before. However, Peng Yu was far from the ordinary. He was very scheming and cunning.

  Even a character such as Zhai Sheng nearly fell into Peng Yu’s trap.

  If Peng Yu had not secretly done many things that created hindrances to Zhai Sheng, Zhai Sheng would not have missed the birth of his triplets and also their full-month celebration.

  Elder Lin snorted. He was not totally dissatisfied with this answer. The problem had only been temporarily resolved. However, his little disciple only gave birth once in her lifetime, and the three babies only had one full-month celebration in their lifetimes.

  As the husband and father, he was not present on either occasion.

  How could Zhai Sheng make up for these two matters?

  Zhai Hua and Miao Jing faced each other. They had already heard before that Elder Lin was very protective of his calf and doted on Qiao Nan very much.

  However, hearsay was one matter and seeing for themselves was another.

  Unexpectedly, Elder Lin was extremely protective of Nan Nan. For those who were unaware, they would very likely misunderstand that Nan Nan was a granddaughter Elder Lin had left wandering outside, and it was not convenient for him to acknowledge her.

  Fortunately, Miao Jing and Zhai Hua’s thoughts about this matter were the same as Elder Lin’s. Zhai Sheng did not come back for these two important occasions. Even his mother and sister could not help him.

  No one knew how frightened Zhai Hua felt two months ago when Qiao Nan lay on the delivery bed and fainted on the spot after giving birth to Er Bao due to excessive use of energy.

  She had seen many lives and deaths but had not experienced it happening to her close kin. She did not have the confidence and strength to watch helplessly as Qiao Nan struggled on the verge of life and death.

  The three babies were already more than two months old, but Zhai Hua still frequently dreamed of the scene wherein both the mother and babies were on the verge of death because Qiao Nan had no more energy after giving birth to Er Bao and almost suffocated San Bao, who was then still in the womb.

  \r \r \r

  What if there was an occurrence of an accident or a situation that was not within control on that day? If Qiao Nan and San Bao did not manage to survive, what should she do? How was she going to face her family, as well as Da Bao and Er Bao, who had just been born?

  She was afraid that she was the one who had caused Da Bao and Er Bao to become children without a mother.

  After meeting Zhai Sheng, Zhai Hua blamed all these worries and fears on Zhai Sheng without any second thoughts.

  Zhai Sheng did not come back in time. Otherwise, everything that she had faced would have been Zhai Sheng’s business. She would, at most, stay by Zhai Sheng’s side to cheer for Qiao Nan.

  In short, what happened that day really scared Zhai Hua out of her wits.

  She was the only one by Qiao Nan’s side. What if Qiao Nan required any surgery? Zhai Hua feared that she, as the sister-in-law, would have the chance the sign the papers to approve the surgery under those circumstances.

  Fortunately, everything was over now. Qiao Nan had tided over that difficult time and even safely gave birth to three babies. As such, the Zhai family had three babies all at once.

  “Peng Yu, that young lad, is arrogant and high-handed. He only cares about the outcome and not the process. Hence, there is nothing that he cannot do. There are only things that you won’t expect. Forget it this time. You have to be more careful next time. After having one exchange, Peng Yu’s next move toward you will definitely be worse. When that time comes, getting away from danger is a separate matter. Be careful that he will bite off a huge piece of your flesh.”

  At the mention of Peng Yu, this junior, Elder Lin looked extremely sullen.

  If this lad could time travel back to the ancient times, he would definitely be a formidable figure and the king of killers.

  Clearly, when that lad was still young, he looked so fair, crisp-looking, and well-mannered. He did not even show his teeth when he smiled. He was gentler and quieter than a young lady.

  Why did he become so evil after growing up?

  Lin Yuankang could not figure out what blow Peng Yu had experienced or if the Peng family did any foolish things to make Peng Yu, who used to be quite fine, become so deformed now.

  As Qiao Nan’s master, no matter how much Lin Yuankang disliked Zhai Sheng, with Peng Yu as a comparison, Lin Yuankang could not refuse to admit that Zhai Sheng, this disciple-in-law, was actually not bad. At the very least, he was much better than Peng Yu.

  The Peng family returned to the capital a few years before the Zhai family did.

  One had to know. Seven or eight years ago, Peng Yu and Zhai Sheng were two boys famous for being good in their studies in the quad of Ping Cheng.

  Zhai Sheng was older than Peng Yu by a couple of years. He was more mature, while Peng Yu was initially a bright and cheery boy, who made people feel that he was more friendly and approachable than Zhai Sheng.

  Logically, the two of them had such a stark contrast. Peng Yu should be more popular than Zhai Sheng in the quad.

  In fact, this was really the case at the beginning.

  Many people had felt that Peng Yu was very good-tempered and approachable and thus became friends with him.

  Strangely, within one month, most of those who had chosen to become closer to Peng Yu would become biased toward Zhai Sheng more. After playing with Zhai Sheng, they would take their hat off to him and acknowledge him as their little boss. No one would have any thoughts of betrayal thereafter.

  In the quad, there were many fights and quarrels between children. The adults had never taken them to heart. They felt that the children would reconcile within a day after they argued and kicked up a fuss.

  The adults thought that way but the friendship between children might not really be so pure and simple.

  The characters of the Zhai family members were usually more mature and calmer. Although they were already qualified to return to the capital long ago, Zhai Yaohui had been finding ways to delay it so that they could continue staying in Ping Cheng.

  The Peng family was different. They were keen to perform and compete for more resources.

  Due to this, five years ago, when the Peng family met the criteria to return to the capital, the whole family moved to the capital without a word. Also, the fact that they had stayed in the quad of Ping Cheng before had unknowingly been wiped clean.

  Judging by the behavior of the Peng family, clear-minded and sharp individuals knew that the Peng family definitely did not intend to come back to Ping Cheng after going to the capital. They did not even think of coming back to Ping Cheng for retirement.

  Perhaps there were still some benefits to the Peng family by returning to the capital five years ago.

  The Peng family could not stand in the way of the Zhai family when they were in Ping Cheng. Five years later, in the capital, Peng Yu had completed the mission that he did not manage to when he was a child. He had fulfilled his wish and caused Zhai Sheng to have a hard fall.

  It could be said that over so many years, Peng Yu was the only one who could make Zhai Sheng suffer.

  Zhai Hua put away the diapers of the three babies properly, lest someone throw it away. “Peng Yu…… I’ve not seen him for a few years. This little lad has become more cunning and evil.”

  At the mention of Peng Yu, Zhai Hua clearly remembered that she did not have a good impression of Qiao Nan because of Peng Yu. She even doubted Qiao Nan before. Her first impression of Qiao Nan was affected by Peng Yu.

  1191 Becoming a Hero

  Of course, Zhai Hua was long aware that Peng Yu and Qiao Nan simply did not know each other. Qiao Nan could not be the spy sent by Peng Yu to make fun of them.

  “Yes, I don’t know how the Peng family teaches him.” Elder Lin sighed.

  Peng Yu looked fairer, more crisp-looking and obedient than Zhai Sheng. As a normal elderly person, Elder Lin favored Peng Yu, who had an obedient image, more at first sight.

  Fortunately, Peng Yu firmly believed the logic that ‘all academics were useless’. Clearly, he knew who Elder Lin was but he refused to buy it. He refused to look up to Elder Lin and the latter’s capability.

  Instead of working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peng Yu had ambitions that were totally in contrast with his looks. He wanted to be a general and wished to kill.

  It was a sin to kill an individual but a hero to kill millions.

  Peng Yu was very clear about his ambitions since he was a child. He wanted to be a hero that could slaughter millions of people.

  Between so many careers, only policemen and soldiers could come into contact with guns, and only soldiers could take the enemies’ lives in various situations.

  From Peng Yu’s perspective and position, he knew that his hands could not be smeared with the blood of ordinary people if he wanted to fulfill his wish.

  He did not need to use real knives and guns. Sometimes, it was more formidable and blood would be shed faster if he were to kill silently without using any hard weapons.

  In Peng Yu’s lifetime, he had met a teacher who liked psychological research very much. He once assessed Peng Yu and said that if it were in ancient times, he was most unsuited for one profession: executioner.

  The homicide Peng Yu wanted to commit was not one without any difficulty.

  The dark side in his heart made him a ready strategist.

  \r \r \r

  In short, there was a problem with this person’s mind. He was sick and abnormal.

  The problem was that the Peng family and Peng Yu were not bothered about this. Even if they were aware that Peng Yu was a dangerous individual, no one in the world had the right to do anything to him before he did anything harmful to the country and the people’s interests. No one could prevent Peng Yu from having the chance to act according to his wishes and do those evil matters.

  Others were not aware of Peng Yu’s situation but not Zhai Sheng.

  It was not because of other reasons. It was because the teacher who gave Peng Yu such an assessment was also Zhai Sheng’s teacher.

  In contrast with Peng Yu, who did not keep in contact with his former teachers once he graduated, Zhai Sheng would occasionally return to the school. Naturally, he seemed more human than Peng Yu.

  The teachers were more willing to chat about the gossip between some students after the students had graduated.

  When he saw Elder Lin sigh, Zhai Sheng inevitably recalled what his teacher said to him before.

  Peng Yu was the type of person who would not turn back and look at you again once you have lost your value. As such, although Lin Yuankang liked Peng Yu, this ‘obedient child’, initially, after a while, Elder Lin no longer spent too much effort on Peng Yu. He had gradually realized that Peng Yu’s heart was the complete opposite of his cheerful and gentle exterior.

  Elder Lin was also very arrogant. It was seldom that he thought highly of a junior, yet this junior did not look up to him.

  Elder Lin was not hard for it. Facing Peng Yu, this kind of child who would drive someone to the grave, no matter how good-tempered Elder Lin was, he was not willing to be nice to Peng Yu. He chose to distance himself from Peng Yu as much as possible.

  “I’ve not seen him for five years. This child has become more astray than before. I am thinking. He is so young, yet his heart is already so deformed. Most likely, the Peng family did not know how to teach their children.” Elder Lin exclaimed regretfully.

  If Peng Yu was not so evil and malicious, he would be the most intelligent child amongst those that he had met before.

  He had been led astray by the Peng family. This was a sheer pity.

  Miao Jing rubbed her forehead. “What’s there to be pitiful about? Why do I feel scared after knowing that someone like that exists in the world?” That child was younger than Zhai Sheng by a couple of years, yet he was so scheming and malicious. He was too annoying.

  In Miao Jing’s lifetime, the worst person that she had met was Qi Minlan.

  However, upon hearing what Peng Yu did to her son, Miao Jing realized that besides being a little too arrogant when she was young and acting pitiful in front of Zhai Yaohui, Qi Minlan was considered nothing in comparison to Peng Yu. She did not have anything to show off at all.

  If Qi Minlan was not the one who competed with her for Zhai Yaohui in the past, Zhai Sheng and Zhai Hua, these two children, would not exist in this world. She was afraid that she would no longer exist in this world too.

  In such a peaceful and lawful era, someone was thinking only about killing, killing, and killing. Miao Jing could not understand.

  Wasn’t it good to lead a peaceful life?

  Didn’t one feel terrible to kill people?

  Having such thoughts in his mind, was Peng Yu’s brain leaking?

  “There are all kinds of fish in the sea. He is annoying to you but likable to many mothers.” This was the thing that Zhai Sheng felt most helpless about. If everyone had upright worldly views and values, Zhai Sheng would not have encountered such a troublesome matter this time. “Zhai Sheng, why don’t I return to the army?”

  Her status and position were not higher than that of Zhai Sheng, and she could not win against Peng Yu either.

  Nevertheless, if she was in the army, she could not only act as a decoy but also become a substitute for Zhai Sheng if anything were to happen.

  With her help, it would be much better than Zhai Sheng fighting a lone battle.

  “There’s no need to.” He took a glance at the diapers in Zhai Hua’s hands. “Peng Yu Yu is certainly a little crafty but everyone has weaknesses and shortcomings. I have been too lax with him because he left Ping Cheng for so long.”

  The difference was that Peng Yu had returned to the capital earlier than him by five years. It seemed that Peng Yu had never let his guard down.

  This was their first exchange and Peng Yu behaved as if he understood him exceptionally well.

  No one would understand oneself better than his enemy.

  This saying proved that Peng Yu had been taking him as an enemy. He had been paying attention to his every action without a moment of rest. This was despite Peng Yu being in the capital for the past five years and him in Ping Cheng all this while.

  “It was an accident. Moreover, I have encountered some trouble this time. Fortunately, I have resolved it very quickly. No major problems came out of it. Did you think that Peng Yu did not suffer any loss?”

  Zhai Sheng had never taken Peng Yu as his opponent. It was not because he did not know Peng Yu’s capability. He just felt that it was unnecessary.

  Of course, Peng Yu dared to take action on him this time. After Zhai Sheng resolved the problem, he even retaliated and made Peng Yu suffer miserable losses. He had wanted to ambush Zhai Sheng and get away from it. It was really wishful thinking on Peng Yu’s part.

  The corners of Elder Lin’s mouth curled up. “You have done quite well. Otherwise, I would need to have a talk with your family’s old master and your father. There are two children in the Zhai family and you’re the only man. What have they been doing if they did not nurture you wholeheartedly?” They could not even bring up a child well. Could he still rely on the Zhai family to raise the three little grand disciples of his?”


  1192 The Three Babies’ Names

  Fortunately, Zhai Sheng’s performance did not disappoint him.

  Peng Yu could be a good, bad, crooked, or evil one.

  Nevertheless, as long as Zhai Sheng was capable and willing to protect Qiao Nan and the three babies, even if Peng Yu was the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, who had invincible powers, Zhai Sheng would be able to transform into the Gautama Buddha, who could stop him from escaping out of the Wuzhi Hill.

  As a man, being able to protect his wife and children was the minimal expectation of him.

  “Alright. When you next return to the army, find this person and have a talk with him.” Elder Lin tore a page from the notebook that he carried with him and passed it to Zhai Sheng. There was a contact number on it. “Remember. You have to protect my little disciple and three grand disciples well. I have not seen Peng Yu, that young lad, for five years. No one is clear what his bottom line is, so you have to try to prevent any unexpected situations from occurring. Understand?”

  By right, everyone was Chinese and also soldiers. They should not implicate their family and children. One should not lay his hands on the other party’s family for the sake of career advancement and such.

  However, no one could accurately predict this kind of matter.

  Regardless of whether Peng Yu dared to have such thoughts, the safety of Qiao Nan and the three babies could only be assured if Zhai Sheng was powerful enough.

  It was still the same words. It was not so easy to be a master.

  Elder Lin was taking Qiao Nan and the three babies as his own children to dote on and protect.

  Now, Elder Lin was also beginning to take action to handle matters he was unwilling to do so in the past. He had been unwilling to return to the capital but he still landed here.

  Even though this was a junior that he once thought highly of and there was only one in a million chance that he would lay his hands on Qiao Nan and the three babies, Elder Lin was not willing to give Peng Yu a chance to do anything funny. He would rather pass the contacts in his hands to Zhai Sheng, this disciple-in-law, to make him more powerful.

  \r \r \r

  Looking at the telephone number, Zhai Sheng was very shocked.

  Even Zhai Sheng did not expect Qiao Nan to win Elder Lin’s favor to this extent, let alone Zhai Hua and Miao Jing. He was surprised that Elder Lin was willing to go so far for Qiao Nan.

  After all, matters of the past had happened so long ago.

  In addition, Elder Lin was also a very crafty man when he was young.

  Everyone knew that Elder Lin was very formidable and was someone with means and resources. The interpersonal connections that he held were resources that would make one jealous.

  The problem was that no one was exceptionally close to Elder Lin. As such, no one knew the true value of Elder Lin’s assets. They could not even estimate it.

  Initially, everyone knew about Elder Lin’s situation. Hence, many feared and respected him. They definitely would not look down on Elder Lin just because he did not have any kin. On the contrary, given Elder Lin’s situation, many people wanted to make use of the children in their family to make Elder Lin one of their own.

  Of course, all these people failed to do so.

  After a long time, many people had forgotten about his glamorous past. As a result, the legend created by Elder Lin when he was young drowned in the currents of time.

  It was only until he received the contact information that Zhai Sheng started to slowly realized that he seemed to have a chance to witness the infinite glory of Elder Lin because of Qiao Nan.

  “Don’t worry. I will definitely take care of and protect Nan Nan and the three babies. This is my responsibility and also my duty.” He did not marry Nan Nan because of Elder Lin.

  Elder Lin looked at Zhai Sheng proudly. He did not speak from his heart. “I don’t really like you. I think that my little disciple can find someone better. However, I have never doubted your feelings for my family’s little disciple.”

  It was not unintentional that everyone had forgotten about him. This was all deliberately arranged by Elder Lin.

  When Zhai Sheng acted as the bridge between his little disciple and him, he had never thought that it would have such an effect one day. Regardless, he was willing to guide and teach Zhai Sheng, this disciple-in-law. He took it that he was rewarding Zhai Sheng for finding him his favorite disciple when the latter hit the mark by a fluke many years ago.

  “It has been so long. Have you all named my three little grand disciples?!” Regarding this, Elder Lin was going to feel resentful soon. The three babies did not have names yet. This affected him in gifting them.

  “Da Bao is called Zhai Yi. Er Bao is called Zhai Xin. As for San Bao…… Elder Lin, how about you give her a name?” This was the outcome of the discussion between Old Master Zhai, Zhai Sheng, and Zhai Yaohui.

  Besides the Zhai family, almost everyone in their social circle was aware of how much Elder Lin liked the three children.

  It was also after the three babies’ full month celebration that people in the social circle found out that Qiao Nan was not only good at giving birth but also very lucky. She was actually the young disciple that Elder Lin doted on most. Hence, she was also a ‘little’ character who had quite some background.

  At the thought that Elder Lin was childless and thus so good to Qiao Nan, the three men of the Zhai family unanimously agreed that perhaps they could let Elder Lin name San Bao.

  Elder Lin trembled slightly. “What did you say? Youngster, don’t talk nonsense. I know you are kind but you can’t casually talk about this kind of thing.” Who would let other adults decide on the name of their own family’s children? To them, this was a matter with great implications.

  Zhai Sheng was not the first one that let Elder Lin name his children but he was the only one that made Elder Lin reveal such an emotional side of him.

  Elder Lin was childless and many people had thoughts to either acknowledge fictive kinship with Elder Lin or become his disciple. They intended to let Elder Lin and the Lin family adopt their children directly.

  The surprise of letting Elder Lin give the name was due to this.

  “Elder Lin, don’t worry. This was discussed by our family’s old master and me yesterday. My dad knows and he doesn’t object to it. Come to think of it, Elder Lin likes San Bao more, no?” After all, San Bao was the only girl. Rare items were more precious. San Bao was more cherished than her two elder brothers.

  Elder Lin’s white mustache moved. He seemed to have considered for a long time. With some tears in his eyes, he said, “Let’s call her Zhai Yu.”

  “Which Yu?” Zhai Hua asked curiously. Once the names of the three babies were firmed up, they had to register them in the household register immediately. Which Yu was that? They had to clarify.

  “The meaning of beautiful jade.” Elder Lin explained. Elder Lin was once young. He had also looked forward to having love and kinship before. In the past, when he saw other men carrying fat and chubby daughters in their arms, Elder Lin thought that he would name his daughter Lin Yu if he was going to have one in the future. This was because his daughter would be the most beautiful piece of exotic jade in his world, and this was something that would not change.

  As he was already in the closing years of his life, Elder Lin had long buried the name ‘Yu’ deeply in his heart.

  Unexpectedly, Zhai Sheng’s words had fulfilled one of Elder Lin’s dreams when the latter was young. Although he did not have a daughter by the name of Lin Yu, he had a grand disciple by the name of Zhai Yu!

  “This is a good name.” Zhai Hua clapped her hands and made the final say. The names that she came up with did not meet the standards. When she heard the name from Elder Lin, she found it especially meaningful and agreed without a further word.