Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  It was considered good if the teacher could even answer just once.

  In the end, the three children felt that their mother was still the most reliable in terms of imparting knowledge. Thus, in addition to the school’s syllabus, the three children much rather preferred to wait until the evening and ask Qiao Nan about knowledge outside of the textbook.

  It is said that once children go to school, the most intelligent person is their teacher and the one whose words they would trust the most is also their teacher.

  But in the case of the three children, it was simply not true. In their hearts, their mom was always first. Their mom was omnipotent and was even more intelligent than their teacher!

  Thus, even though Da Bao had no clue about his mother’s past and her experiences, Da Bao viewed his dad as a hero who was never home.

  In other families, the fathers did this and that. But in their home, their mom did everything. In other families, the things that their moms would do were done by hired helpers and their grandmother. In their home, other than their auntie, most of the work was still done by their mom.

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  Naturally, such a hardworking mother was the one who had it the hardest in the family.

  “Mom is a superhero. She can do anything.” San Bao stuck her thumb up. Although superheroes were always portrayed by men in television shows, their superhero mom was a woman.

  “Mom is the best.” Er Bao offered his ‘praise’ to Qiao Nan as well. In the eyes of the three children, Qiao Nan was omnipresent and was worthy of their admiration.

  “You three rascals know how to say the sweetest things.” Shi Qing was amused. “Your mom works hard indeed. She’s the best and also the most blessed because she has the three of you precious little ones,” Shi Qing said especially sincerely.

  The three children were already seven years old. When they got to junior high school, which was the age at which she had first met Qiao Nan, the three children would become young eagles with wings that would be on their own soon. She thought about how time flew by. When she had first met Qiao Nan, she had not been much older than the three children. Now, Qiao Nan’s children were almost coming to that age. “Nan Nan, how have the children grown up so quickly? It was just yesterday that they were a small bundle and were full of baby fragrance when I carried them in my arms.”

  The three children were most adorable at that time.

  “If you really like the three children at that age, seeing that you and Zhu Baoguo have been engaged for a year or two, shouldn’t you get that done too? Let’s not talk about the engagement. You two are no longer young. It’s time to give the three children some siblings. Our Xiao Bao is already sick of being the youngest in the family. He wants to be an elder brother. So please hurry up. Or are there problems between the two of you?”

  But every time Shi Qing and Zhu Baoguo were together, there were always sparks between the couple. It was incredible that they had not gotten married until now. Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng had even guessed that Shi Qing would end up getting into a shotgun marriage with Zhu Baoguo.

  As soon as her relationship with Zhu Baoguo was mentioned, Shi Qing was not as direct and straightforward as usual. Rather, she beat around the bush. “There’s no hurry between me and Zhu Baoguo.” Since he’s not in a hurry, why should she be?

  Marriage was between the two of them. Would it be any use if she alone was in a hurry? She could not possibly sign the marriage agreement alone. If Zhu Baoguo did not mean to get married, she was not going to put down her pride and take the initiative to beg Zhu Baoguo to get married.

  “Teasing.” Qiao Nan finally understood. Shi Qing was waiting for Zhu Baoguo to make the first move. It meant that as long as Zhu Baoguo made any moves, Shi Qing would never reject and would accept it immediately.

  After getting such an answer, while Qiao Nan lay in Zhai Sheng’s embrace that night, she specifically mentioned it. “I’ve got a reply to the thing you asked me about. But as a woman with her pride, how could she do something like proposing? Not implicitly, and definitely not explicitly.”

  In any case, there would be no getting around Zhu Baoguo making the first move to propose.

  Shi Qing cared very much about who made the first move, and she would never allow the sequence to be reversed.

  In summary, marriage had to be initiated by Zhu Baoguo. Otherwise, Shi Qing would rather delay the matter than to get married.

  Zhai Sheng patted Qiao Nan on the back and coaxed her by saying, “Okay. I’ll let Zhu Baoguo know about the situation. Then, we won’t have to worry anymore about what happens after.” As a man, if he did not even dare to ask for his partner’s hand in marriage and relied on someone else to do so, Zhai Sheng felt that Zhu Baoguo would never be his rival, be it ten years ago or ten years later.

  Every time his wife mentioned Zhu Baoguo, her tone was no different from when she talked about Da Bao and Er Bao.

  Zhai Sheng was simply speechless at such a man who even dreamed of fighting with him over women in the past. At the time when he married Nan Nan, Zhu Baoguo had used so many underhanded methods. Now that seven or eight years had passed, why could Zhu Baoguo not use his efforts on Shi Qing?

  “You should head back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow. If you still don’t return, I’m afraid Minister He Yi will come knocking on our door to look for you. Perhaps there might even be chaos in the department now that you’ve been away for a few days.” Zhai Sheng caressed Qiao Nan’s back which had clearly lost weight. Even her bones were obviously protruding now. Zhai Sheng was heartbroken. “I’ll ask the auntie to buy some chickens and boil soup to nourish you. Now that I’m hugging you, I wonder if you were ever this skinny even when you were back in the Qiao family. I must help you regain all the weight.”

  “Are you disgusted?” Qiao Nan had not felt as though she had lost weight. But with the passing of two loved ones, she had been so depressed and had also been taking care of all the different matters. It would be strange if she did not lose weight. But when Zhai Sheng mentioned it, Qiao Nan naturally had a reaction that most women would have. She was upset.

  Women always hope that they are the most beautiful person in their husband’s eyes. Whether they gain or lose weight, the image of beauty should remain unchanged.

  “No.” If he were disgusted, he would be chased right to the study room to spend the night. “I’m just worried about you. When the auntie finishes cooking the soup tomorrow, I’ll send it over to you. Remember to drink up. It’ll be best if you finish it. It’s more important to nourish you, not just to fatten you up.”