Having a Baby Before Marrying a Wicked Husband - Chapter 139

The group found a nearby supermarket. The supermarket was empty, with neither people nor zombies. Everyone scoured the place like locusts, not leaving anything behind.

The two brothers had never seen such a sight before, finding everything novel. Knowing they couldn’t afford to appear naive at a time like this, they stuck close to Yan Cai, not leaving his side for a moment.

Yan Cai didn’t seem to mind having the two little shadows trailing him.

The supermarket was probably in a remote location since it still had plenty of stock. While the others frantically raided the food section for anything that wasn’t spoiled, Yan Cai, with a backpack on, headed in another direction. The two little ones didn’t dare to stray from him.

“Aren’t you going to get some food? They’re almost done taking everything,” Yan Cai observed, glancing over at the others, who were now fighting over the remaining items.

“We want to stay with you,” Qingke said.

Qingzhi held up his candied hawthorn, saying he still had some candy to eat.

Yan Cai thought to himself, foolish children, candy won’t fill your stomach. However, these weren’t his kids, so he felt no obligation to correct them.

Yan Cai made his way to the camping gear section first but didn’t find the sleeping bags he was looking for, likely already taken. He then moved to the home textiles section, relieved to find some quilts still left. At least there were quilts; they were probably too heavy to carry while traveling, which is why they were still there. He picked up a down quilt and slung it over his shoulder. Qingke looked at him curiously.

It was very hot, so why did they need a quilt?

But if Father did it, there had to be a reason.

“Kids, if you don’t want to freeze to death at night, take a quilt.”

“Okay!” The brothers happily agreed, thinking that Father was looking out for them! Qingke quickly picked up the largest quilt he could find.

Seeing their naive and sweet smiles, Yan Cai felt a strange sensation. They might be foolish, but their hearts were in the right place. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to give them a bit more advice.

“Go over there and find some thick clothes. You’ll need them later,” Yan Cai instructed, pointing to the clothing section.

Seeing his older brother carrying a quilt, Qingzhi quickly moved forward, grabbing a few pieces of clothing, all thick ones. He didn’t pay much attention to the sizes, so most of them were probably too large.

After gathering the clothes, Yan Cai returned to the main hall. The supermarket doors had already been sealed, and they weren’t planning to travel tonight, intending to rest here instead.

Some people came back triumphantly with food, while others, who got into fights and ended up injured, returned empty-handed. Few, like Yan Cai and the brothers, came back with quilts and even two blankets to lay on the ground.

“Are you guys out of your minds from zombie poison? At this temperature, using quilts?” Someone brought over a thermometer from the supermarket, which showed 37°C, clearly not a temperature for using quilts.

Yan Cai couldn’t be bothered to respond.

However, some people, seeing Yan Cai’s actions, quietly started to move. Every one of these people had previously been in the same group as Yan Cai. Although they didn’t know exactly what Yan Cai’s ability was, he always had a way of predicting certain special events.

For example, changes in temperature.

Still, only a few did this; most people believed food was more important. Starving was a more immediate threat. Yan Cai could ignore the scramble for food because he had confidence in his judgment.

He didn’t like staying in crowded places, so he found a secluded corner by the wall where no one could see him. He kicked aside a pile of scattered debris on the ground, spread out the blanket, piled the quilt on top, and sat down.

Qingke also followed his example, spreading out a blanket, laying down a quilt, and throwing the clothes on top. The brothers sat down to rest.

They were cautious not to place their blanket too close to Yan Cai for fear of being driven away, but they didn’t want to move too far either. They gradually inched their blanket closer, testing the distance bit by bit. When Yan Cai’s gaze warned them they had crossed a boundary, Qingke quickly retracted his hand, pretending nothing had happened.

Yan Cai, watching everything from the corner of his eye, couldn’t help but chuckle. Silly kids.

It’s not that Yan Cai didn’t want to eat; he just didn’t want to join the chaotic scramble in the food section, where people were still frantically searching for any scraps of food.

Yan Cai extended his foot, hooking something and pulling it in. He quickly picked it up. Choosing this spot wasn’t just for its seclusion. During his earlier observations, he had noticed there were still some valuable items hidden in this pile of debris.

Yan Cai opened his hand, revealing a large chocolate brick. A dark chocolate. It was wrapped in a purplish-red package, weighing about 250 grams. Chocolate was a good source of high-calorie energy.

He hadn’t planned on saving any of it, just wanted to tear it open and eat it. As he tore open the packaging, a strong chocolatey aroma filled the air, unique to chocolate.

Qingzhi was tempted, his eyes locked tightly on the chocolate, unable to move away. He licked his lips; if it were any other time, Father would have already given him something delicious to eat.

He was really hungry. Qingzhi took out some candied haws and licked them, but he didn’t dare to eat them all. As for Qingke, neither of them had anything to eat; those few candied haws were their only food.

Although Qingzhi seemed a bit foolish, he wasn’t completely clueless. At this moment, he also knew that both he and his elder brother were in a tough situation.

If it were a normal day, he wouldn’t dare to stare so hungrily at other people’s food; his older brother would definitely drag him away, feeling embarrassed. But today, his older brother didn’t do that. He must have felt that there was no need to worry about losing face in front of their father.

Being looked at with such eyes by a child, Yan Cai… could still eat it. It wasn’t the first time he’d encountered this situation. In this era, no one would pity others who weren’t related to them.

Yan Cai thought this way too, but he still put down the chocolate in his hand and pointed to the candied haws in the child’s hand. Candied haws were rare nowadays.

He hadn’t eaten any either. When he came out of the base, there were no longer any vendors selling candied haws.

“I’ll trade this with you for that one. Will you trade?”

Upon hearing this, Qingzhi handed over all the candied haws he had, wanting to give them to Yan Cai, not forgetting the ones in his mouth. Yan Cai’s lips twitched. This foolish child was too naive, not even knowing he was being taken advantage of.

Yan Cai had wrongly accused this little brother. If it were anyone else, Qingzhi definitely wouldn’t have made such an exchange; even if he wanted to, his elder brother, Qingke, would have stopped him.

But this was their father! Of course, he can give it to their father.

“I’ll take just one,” Yan Cai said, pulling out one of the sugar-coated haws from Qingzhi’s hand and exchanging it for the chocolate brick he had taken a bite out of.

Although sugar-coated haws were rare, they didn’t fill the stomach like his chocolate brick did; its energy was far superior.

Yan Cai quickly devoured the sugar-coated haws, finally getting to taste them. He stood up, ignoring the two children cautiously sharing a piece of chocolate, and carried his bag over to the leader of this group.

It’s quite conspicuous that he didn’t rush for food, which might make others think he has plenty of it. This is not a good thing. So, it’s necessary for him to play a little act to dispel others’ suspicions.

Yan Cai exchanged crystals for food with the leader of the old group.

The leader instructed his underlings to bring food and water for the exchange, while he engaged in small talk.

“Brother Yan, are those two children really not related to you? From what I see, you and them really look like father and son.” This was an excuse to fish for more information.

Yan Cai smiled, his expression unchanged.

“Brother Zhen, you must be joking. At my age, I couldn’t have kids that big. Besides, we’re all ability-users, you know that.”

“Indeed. Among us ability-users, procreation has long been a rarity. But I wonder, do you have a lost brother out there, not a son, perhaps a brother? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trading for so much food, one person couldn’t consume it all. Is it for those two?”

Yan Cai thought to himself, a brother? He didn’t have parents. If the Doctor made a few more with similar genes, that could be possible.

“Not really a brother. I just… you could say I’m feeling generous today,” Yan Cai replied, taking the food and water back. The leader continued to watch him with a hand on his chin.

As Yan Cai returned, he found a small crowd gathered. Among them were a couple and a family of three.

Both the couple and the family wanted to trade for the sugar-coated haws. The girl in the couple hadn’t eaten them in ages and persuaded her boyfriend to make the trade. Her sweet voice and gentle demeanor quickly won them over.

The family of three had a child who looked to be around ten or so, likely born before their parents had abilities, and thus, had never tasted sugar-coated haws.

“I’ll trade you these for those,” the boyfriend said, pulling out a box of chewing gum. “See? Watermelon flavor, guaranteed you’ve never tasted anything like it.” He figured these two might not have much experience, so he tried to impress them.

Qingke glanced at them and shook his head, uninterested.

The parents then pulled out a piece of ham sausage.

“I have sausages here, with meat. Let’s trade. Yours have no meat, so at least I’ll exchange two with you.”

“Get out of the way!” Before the parents could finish speaking, Yan Cai walked over and pushed aside the people blocking the path. He spilled all the bought items onto the blanket, stunning both the couple and the family of three.

Their abilities aren’t strong enough, and their physical strength isn’t as formidable as some apocalypse individuals. So normally, they wouldn’t be as extravagant as Yan Cai, exchanging so many things all at once.

The family of three swallowed hard.

“Oh, you want to trade too, kid? I’ll trade with you guys too, pick whatever you want from here.”

“Hey, don’t you understand first come, first served?” The couple and the family of three weren’t happy; they were already jealous, and now this person was coming to snatch from them.

“What first come, first served? I only see someone taking advantage of kids. These are fresh hawthorns, coated with sugar. Do you not know the prices of fresh fruit and sugar now? You want to trade everything for chewing gum? Are you trying to teach them how to blow bubbles? And a sausage made of flour pretending to be meat…”

Yan Cai mocked. The others’ faces turned red with anger, but no one dared to say anything.

There is no way, this guy might look skinny and weak, but he was really good at fighting zombies. It wouldn’t be advantageous to fight him.

Moreover, the two young ones immediately added, “We only trade with father… only with him.”

The group prepared to leave angrily, but then Qingzhi asked, “What is blowing bubbles?” Perhaps it was the nature of children to be interested in playing.

Yan Cai stopped the couple.

“I’ll trade you this.” He picked up a strawberry-flavored lollipop.

In terms of price, the chewing gum was more expensive than the lollipop, but chewing gum, something you can’t eat, was practically worthless now.

After some thought, the couple agreed to the trade.

Yan Cai took one, chewed it for a bit, and blew a bubble. His bubble wasn’t perfect, but it still amazed Qingke and Qingzhi.

“Wow! So awesome.”

Yan Cai showed a rare blush of embarrassment on his face. He coughed twice and said, “This is nothing. The bubbles I blew aren’t big. The big ones can be as big as a head. This kind of chewing gum can’t make big bubbles.”

Yan Cai shifted all the blame to the chewing gum, not mentioning his own technique at all.

The two children also tried blowing bubbles like him, marveling at the novelty.

“As an exchange, you give me all the candy, and I’ll give you half of the food here. After all, you’re not dumb for not trading with them.”

“But…” Qingke wasn’t stupid; he immediately realized that Father had given them way more stuff in exchange.

Sure enough, Father was really nice to them. He liked Father the most!

Seeing the two kids hesitant to accept, Yan Cai voluntarily distributed the items.

“Hide the stuff. Don’t let anyone see.”

After eating some, they hid the remaining food under the blanket. They continued playing with bubbles, but not long after, the temperature suddenly dropped sharply. They quickly put on the clothes they had taken hid under the quilt.

The two brothers hugged each other tightly, only showing half of their eyes.

It was bad for the others who didn’t have any warm items. They were shivering with cold, having nothing to keep them warm. Some people inside the hall started a fire to warm up, chopping up some cabinets here and burning some books.

Even under the blankets, it was still very cold. Qingzhi shrank next to his older brother, shivering, and they both tried to move closer to Dad.

Yan Cai suddenly opened his eyes. Did they think he was dead asleep? With such obvious movements, wouldn’t he feel it? They were almost crawling into his bedding.

Just when he couldn’t take it anymore, he heard the voice of the leader.

“Hey, kid. It’s our team’s rule to take turns keeping watch, and it’s your turn now.”

Yan Cai sat up coldly, startling the leader.

Clearly, it was too cold, so they were rounding up people to keep watch. Why did it have to be the kid’s turn? Besides, it was very dangerous at night.

Darkness provided the best camouflage for those things.

Under the cover of darkness, human eyes couldn’t see the presence of zombies. But zombies could sense the scent of living people.

This is one of the most dangerous jobs so it’s done in rotation by members of the team. But this kid just arrived today, why is it his turn?

The boss was startled by Yan Cai’s eyes and hesitated.

“Everyone else has taken their turn, and newbies also need to contribute. Isn’t this the rule of the team? Yan, my brother, don’t break the rules. Besides, it’s not a whole night shift, and he’s dressed warm enough, just watch for three hours.”

Qingke had already sat up. If this was the rule, he didn’t want to trouble Father. The only trouble was his little brother.

“Father…” Qingke paused and changed his words, “Could you watch my little brother for me?”

“Mmm.”

Qingke then followed the leader, who sneered: He said he wasn’t his son, but I heard someone call him Father.

Qingke wasn’t afraid of zombies or anything like that, he was just troubled by having a little brother. He worried about his little brother being alone, but with Father here, he felt reassured.

Yan Cai looked helplessly as a small lump formed under the blanket. The little lump poked its head out and bid farewell to his brother, but then slowly crept towards Yan Cai.

“Stop, don’t come over.”

Qingzhi stopped moving, snuggled inside, eyes closed. Without his brother there, the blanket felt much cooler. The floor was cold, and the blanket wasn’t warm enough. After a while, he started shivering.

Seeing him shivering uncontrollably, Yan Cai couldn’t bear it.

He sat up, pressed his own blanket over the kid, and lay down beside him. Qingzhi didn’t feel as cold anymore.

“Kid, you better not move again. Otherwise, I’ll spank your butt.”

The little brother said softly, “I’m not a kid, I’m Zhizhi.”

“Zhizhi? Are you a mouse?”

The little brother grunted twice and said, “My brother is called KeKe. Remember that, okay?” Father.

“Keke, Zhizhi. You two have quite unique names. Aren’t you afraid when your brother’s not around?” What a silly kid, trusting even strangers and not afraid of being taken away.

“Not afraid. I have Father. But I miss my brother. I miss my other father too.”

“Turns out you have a real father, huh?”

The little brother remained silent, only saying in his heart, They’re both father.

“Alright, go to sleep now. When you wake up, your brother will be back.”

Nestled close to the familiar scent of his father, Qingzhi soon drifted off to sleep. Yan Cai felt a strange feeling in his heart. The child’s tender face felt strangely soft next to his.

Qingzhi slept peacefully, but Yan Cai never slept deeply. He had grown accustomed to sleeping lightly, easily stirred by the slightest movement. Thus, when Qingke returned, he immediately woke up.

Qingke immediately pounced on him.

Yan Cai, still groggy, surprisingly didn’t push him away at once; it took a moment for him to remember.

“Let go. If you don’t, I’ll hit you.”

Qingke released his grip, looking timidly at Yan Cai.

Seeing his expression, Yan Cai thought he was scared.

“Encountered danger? It’s okay as long as you’re safe. Come back to sleep quickly, your little brother is waiting for you.”

“L-Let’s sleep together, it’s warmer,” Qingke pleaded. In this unfamiliar place, he only had his little brother and father to rely on; he didn’t want to be separated from his father. “I have some crystal stones; I’ll give them all to you.”

Qingke handed over all the zombie crystal stones he had collected that night to Yan Cai, trying to please him. Qingke’s hands were small, yet they were filled with crystals in no time.

Yan Cai hesitated for a moment, then accepted the crystals, feeling a rare flutter in his heart.

“Come here.”

Qingke, granted permission, felt extremely happy. Indeed, trying to please father with things was effective, just as his other Father said.

The two brothers snuggled tightly against Yan Cai on this cold night.  It’s rare for Yan Cai to feel that he’s not very cold or lonely.

However, when morning came, his bed was empty, with nothing in it.

He sat alone, staring at the two thick blankets, lost in thought. No one could’ve approach and take away the two little ones from his side without his knowledge…

They were gone.

“It’s a bit cold,” he said.

————

Opening his eyes, Qingke and his brother had returned to their own world.

That day, after many years of not sleeping with their fathers, the two brothers unexpectedly brought their own pillows and entered their fathers’ room. Holding their pillows tightly, they gazed longingly at Jiang Manyue and Yan Cai.

“What’s wrong? Keke, tell me.” Jiang Manyue noticed something was wrong.

However, neither of them said anything, they just threw themselves into his arms, tears streaming down their faces, crying until their faces were all red.

“Father, father! We miss you! We want to sleep with you!” the two sons said in unison.

So, after many years, the family squeezed onto one bed. Yan Cai could only be grateful that the bed he had originally ordered was large enough.

Otherwise, the whole family would have had to sleep on the floor.

However, Qingke rarely acted spoiled when he grew up, so seeing him like this today was truly nostalgic.

Yan Cai patted his son’s back.

“Are the boys asleep?” Yan Cai asked in a low voice.

Jiang Manyue replied softly, “Yeah.”

“Have the boys been bullied?”

“Maybe they just miss their fathers,” Jiang Manyue said as he stroked his youngest son’s fluffy head. “Occasionally, it’s nice for the family to sleep together.”

As the night deepened, the room gradually fell silent, with only the shallow breathing of the family.

The moonlight poured into the bedroom like water, illuminating the bedside and casting a soft glow over the family’s dreams, quietly singing a lullaby belonging to the moonlight.

The silver brilliance shimmered, as different worlds intersected, emitting a beautiful radiance.

What remained unchanged was this gentle moonlight, accompanying Yan Cai’s family in their simple yet happy life.

The author has something to say:

The side story is also finished. Kisses.

When the green mountains and clear waters meet, we’ll see each other again if fate designs we’re to meet.