Auntie Fang Fang did not even give any thought to it before heartlessly rejecting it. Auntie Fang Fang said that Gao Feng was only ten years old and had not even earned a single cent for himself. He would be a wastrel to be spending money on a camera that cost more than ten thousand yuan! They would never tolerate such behavior.
When Gao Feng grew older and truly understood what he needed, then they would reconsider whether to purchase the presents that Gao Feng requested for.
When Da Bao bought a car, Fang Fang and Zhai Hua wanted to have a hand in it. The amount that they forked out must have been a six-figure sum. But toward their own biological son, Fang Fang had refused to give him a present that cost only ten thousand yuan. Da Bao expressed that it was indeed exhausting to be the one always favored by the elders, especially when those little ones looked at him with resentful eyes. He always had to make promises that drained his wallet.
Thankfully, Da Bao was not an easily spoiled child. He was clear that his mom was the one who treated him the best. He believed that his mom had his own reasons for buying this car for him. And so, Da Bao rejected the elders’ care for him.
As a car owner, Da Bao felt that he could handle such a trivial matter like going to school on his own. He would no longer have to rely on his mom to send him around, and she would not have to work so hard anymore.
“That’s right. Da Bao and I aren’t kids anymore. Dad has thrown the three of us into the military so many times. There’s nothing we haven’t seen. Do you think that we’ll be beaten down by a university’s reporting day? You’d better just take care of San Bao.” Er Bao agreed with Da Bao.
After all these years, as a young man who had already gotten his identity card and was about 1.89 meters, Er Bao felt a twinge of sadness being called Er Bao by his mom every day. Had he not said that he despised his mom addressing him as so? It was still all right for his mom to do so while they were at home, but to still call them Da Bao and Er Bao while they were outside? That did not seem too good. It would ruin his image as a strong young man.
The thought of people at school hearing his mom addressing him as Er Bao made him feel as though his university life had ended before it had even begun. Once he started attending university, it would no longer be an early relationship. He even hoped that he would start to receive love letters once he went to university.
In order for his university life not to end before it had even begun, Er Bao felt that he had to stand tall on the front line with Da Bao. He had reason to believe that Da Bao would have the same thoughts as him. The nicknames of Da Bao and Er Bao were really only suitable for use at home.
It was all right for a young lady like San Bao, but he and Da Bao were already real young men.
Da Bao side-eyed Er Bao, warning Er Bao not to go overboard. Even if he did have the same thoughts as Er Bao, he would not want to anger his mom by saying that they did not want other people to learn of their nicknames. There was no need for their father to get involved. He would rein Er Bao in before the situation became too dire.
Er Bao hit his own head. Did he seem like someone who had no limits? He loved his mom very much too! If he were to anger his mom or make her sad, he would not need anyone to interfere. He would give himself a good beating before anyone did.
Qiao Nan did not give it much thought and innocently thought that her sons had grown up. Moreover, her three children had always been more independent than other children their age, so it was nothing much for Da Bao and Er Bao to go to school on their own. “Fine. Then, I’ll send San Bao for her reporting day. You two shouldn’t dawdle either. Remember to call home when you’re free.”
After discussing it through, it was decided that Qiao Nan would send San Bao to Peking University, while Da Bao and Er Bao would drive themselves to PLA National Defense University.
“Mom, I can handle the rest on my own. You can go home first. Since you have time, it’s better for you to get some rest.” Once they reached the school, San Bao hurried Qiao Nan home. San Bao knew that her mom was even busier than her dad. Apart from her work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, her mom was the one who took care of all the three children. Her dad returned only occasionally to take care of them.
San Bao pitied her mom for needing to work so hard. Otherwise, she would not have given up her dream to enter the military and instead joined Peking University, where her mom was an alumnus.
“Can you really handle it on your own?” Qiao Nan was hesitant after seeing how other children had at least two adults with them for today’s reporting day. This month, Zhai Sheng had other things to settle and had no time to spare for his children’s university reporting day. Thankfully, Da Bao and Er Bao had gone on their own. That had significantly reduced Qiao Nan’s burden.
But Qiao Nan had never let the triplets feel any different from other children just because their parents were busy.
“Of course!” San Bao was just one step away from raising her right hand to make an oath. Her mom was just like any other mother, who was afraid that her child would be bullied. The problem was that her mom never stopped her father from throwing the three of them into the military every winter vacation.
This was just reporting to university. She had not needed any help with making her bed or sunning her blanket since the age of ten. San Bao felt that her father’s military training was several times stricter than the university’s.
She had survived through her father’s harsh training. Whatever she would have to face in university would be nothing to her. There was nothing to worry about. Perhaps, having gone through her father’s hellish training, the university’s military training might be a walk in the park!
Hearing San Bao’s words, Qiao Nan could finally rest easy and left.
When Qiao Nan returned home, Zhai Sheng was coincidentally there too. Zhai Sheng reached his arm out and Qiao Nan instinctively sat down. “It feels as though I’ve grown old in the blink of an eye. The triplets are now university students, and I’m an old lady now.” Qiao Nan held out her hands to count. She was already forty this year.
Forty years old…
In her previous life, she had not even turned forty by the time she died. Qiao Nan almost mistook her previous life for a dream. Perhaps, what Qiao Nan had now was what was truly real.
In actual fact, two years ago, when Qiao Nan had been thirty-eight years old, Qiao Nan had tensed up. After all, this was when she had gotten into an accident and passed away in her previous life.
Qiao Nan was most worried that it would happen during her children’s vacation. Zhai Sheng had felt Qiao Nan’s uneasiness and asked her about it. But Qiao Nan had refused to disclose anything. In the end, Zhai Sheng had no choice but to shorten the children’s military training to return to Qiao Nan’s side to accompany her.
It was not until a certain day passed did the Zhai family suddenly realize that Qiao Nan’s uneasiness had suddenly disappeared and that she had returned to her previous calm demeanor.
