Chapter 48 Leaving

Chapter 48 Departure

When they left the Fu residence, it was already very late. The kids had been asleep for a while in their parents' arms.

Su He and Fu Tinghua each holding a sleeping child made their way home quietly.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," Fu Tinghua suddenly said.

"Huh? Oh, I know," Su He replied, a bit puzzled.

"Nothing you want to say to me?"

Su He truly didn’t know what to say to him. Although this man was her husband in name only, she didn’t actually consider him as her real husband.

"Then... travel safe?" Su He ventured.

For some reason, she could feel the air between them grow chilly after she said those words.

Strange, it’s still summer, isn’t it?

After a long pause, Fu Tinghua finally replied with a single "Okay," and then stopped trying to engage her in conversation.

Seeing this, Su He let out a quiet sigh of relief.

I need to make money! That's the only way I can ask for a divorce!

Why stay married when there's no love between us?

Su He still dreamed of love.

But love had never been a necessity for her—she could take it or leave it.

Su He wasn’t the type to fall in love easily. Otherwise, with so many people pursuing her back then, she would have already gotten married.

A woman needs to stand on her own two feet.

So I must get rich!

After returning home, Su He and Fu Tinghua placed the children on the bed, and Su He started heating water.

Though the children were asleep and couldn’t take a bath, she still planned to give them a quick wash.

Fu Tinghua came to the kitchen and stood beside Su He, helping with the fire.

"I might pull weekend duty once a month, but on my days off, I’ll come see you weekends.

Of course, if you want to visit the city, come see me Friday in advance so we don’t miss each other."

Fu Tinghua suddenly broke the silence with his words.

Hearing this, Su He was startled.

Come to think of it, after Fu Tinghua married the original Su He, hadn’t he been so busy that he had to stay in the hospital dormitory? Didn’t he always claim he was on call?

"I remember, you used to be so busy that you didn’t even have time to return to the dormitory. The dorm is only about a ten-minute walk from the hospital," Su He replied.

Fu Tinghua thought Su He was upset about his past absence and quickly explained, "At that time, the hospital was understaffed, especially in the surgical department, so everyone was working crazy hours that year."

When Su He didn’t respond, he added, "I wasn’t there for you through your pregnancy or after the babies came."

"But things are different now. I got promoted this time when I came back.

And the hospital has recruited many more medical students, so I won’t be as busy as I was in the past two years."

Su He: ......Thanks, but that’s really not needed.

"Alright, I understand," Su He replied flatly.

They didn’t speak again after that. Watching Su He come out from her bath and automatically went to the children's room, Fu Tinghua opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t call out to her.

The next day, Su He woke up early to make breakfast for Fu Tinghua.

There was still a bit of chicken left, so Su He used it as a broth base and cooked noodles.

By the time Fu Tinghua got up, the noodles were already done.

"You're up? Breakfast is ready," Su He said with a smile.

Fu Tinghua looked at Su He in confusion, feeling that she seemed strangely attentive and responsible now, yet also sensing she wasn’t quite as caring.

After all, what wife wouldn’t even bother to ask her husband a single question after he returned from the border?

"Mm, alright. I’ll go freshen up first," Fu Tinghua replied.

By the time he finished washing, Su He was no longer in the kitchen—likely gone to wake the children for breakfast.

Fu Tinghua sat on a low stool, staring at the bowl of noodles in front of him, which looked, smelled, and tasted perfect, making it all feel even more unreal.

He smiled wryly to himself, then picked up the noodles and started eating.

The two kids were woken up by Su He. When they went to the kitchen to get water to wash up, they saw Fu Tinghua eating and called out, "Daddy."

"Mm, Daddy needs to return to the city soon. I’ll visit next weekend. Is there anything you’d like me to bring you?" Fu Tinghua asked.

"Daddy, can Niu Niu have a Barbie doll?" Niu Niu looked up at him and asked.

"Of course. What about you, Zai Zai? What do you want?" Fu Tinghua asked with a smile.

Zai Zai shook his head and said, "I don’t want anything."

What kid his age doesn’t want anything? Su He didn’t believe it.

If Zai Zai truly had no desires, might he develop antisocial tendencies like in those novels?

So she quickly said to Fu Tinghua, "Buy Zai Zai a toy car. I’ve seen them sold in the city, right?"

Hardly anyone owned cars back then, and toy cars weren’t widely available.

Even if they were, most regular families couldn’t afford such luxuries.

"Alright," Fu Tinghua agreed immediately.

After breakfast, Fu Tinghua grabbed the bag he'd brought and walked alone to the village entrance to wait for transportation back to town.

"Mommy, Daddy’s gone," Niu Niu said sadly to Su He only when Fu Tinghua was out of sight.

"You miss Daddy, don’t you?" Su He stroked Niu Niu’s hair comfortingly.

"Mm, I wish Mommy and Daddy would stay together," Niu Niu suddenly whispered, she added.

Su He's heart skipped a beat at her words, and she asked, "What if Mommy and Daddy don't stay together?"

"How could that happen? Didn’t Daddy say he’d come back to see us every weekend?" Niu Niu asked, puzzled.

"Oh, it’s nothing, I was just saying," Su He replied with a hollow laugh.

She would take things one step at a time. If she and Fu Tinghua could coexist peacefully, both busy with their own careers, then staying together like this wouldn’t be so bad.

Ever since coming to this world, these two children had been Su He’s emotional anchors. Everything she did was with them in mind.

So, in Su He’s heart, the two kids were the most important to her.

In all her future plans, the two children were always included.

She would raise them well, change their fate, and ensure they had smooth, happy lives.

The original her had already made mistakes, but as a transmigrator, she couldn’t afford to repeat them.

"Mom, if you don’t stay with Dad, I’ll stay with you," Zai Zai suddenly spoke up, catching Su He off guard with his perceptiveness.

Su He, flushing, immediately replied, "When did I say I wouldn’t stay with your dad? Don’t say things like that."

Zai Zai looked at her guilty expression, was quiet for a moment, then added, "Don’t worry, I won’t say anything."

Su He: "..."

Her son was just too clever.

No wonder he was the novel's genius-level villain.

Glancing at her sweet but naive daughter, who was staring at her in confusion, Su He could feel a headache coming.

In the future, she’d have to watch out for Niu Niu and make sure she wasn’t fooled by any bad men—especially not the male lead, who was already in love with someone else.