Husband, Kids, and a Warm Home

Lou Yu opened the camera and took a selfie; his own face appeared on the screen.

Black hair, black eyes with a purple tinge, familiar features.

Those three children, judging from their appearance, were practically miniature versions of him and Tao Qiu after their union.

So...

Lou Yu swallowed hard, his eyes blurry with tears as he looked at Tao Qiu.

Tao Qiu sneered, "Did you see clearly? Whose child is this?"

Lou Yu: "... Yours and mine."

Tao Qiu gritted her teeth. "Lou Yu, in your eyes, I'm just a fickle, unfaithful man who had a wife but still went out to find a mistress, is that right?"

Lou Yu's heart skipped a beat. He realized he had misunderstood and misspoke, turning his surprise into a shock.

"Hmph!" Tao Qiu glared at him, then turned to open the car door and leave. Lou Yu immediately pounced on her and hugged her tightly, repeatedly saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong, Qiuqiu, don't go!"

Tao Qiu tried to pry Lou Yu's hand off. "Let go! I'm already going to make you my mistress, what are you still doing keeping me around?"

Actually Tao Qiu didn't use all his strength, otherwise Lou Yu wouldn't have been able to stop him at all.

Lou Yu understood this as well, so with a clever move, he turned Tao Qiu around and pulled her onto his lap, so that they were facing each other. But Tao Qiu turned her face away and refused to Lou Yu.

Lou Yu wrapped his arms around Tao Qiu's waist, but not with the usual force. Instead, his movements were as light as a feather falling, carrying a cautious and ingratiating air.

Lou Yu buried his face in Tao Qiu's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and tears fell again.

But this time, it was tears of guilt.

Lou Yu's breath and his tears burned Tao Qiu's skin. His tone was urgent and sincere. "It's my fault. I was blind. I guessed without seeing the child's face clearly. I didn't trust you enough, which is why I suspected you of betraying our relationship. I'm stupid, I'm clumsy, I'm a petty person. Qiuqiu, you can hit me, you can scold me, just don't abandon me. Please."

Tao Qiu wasn't very angry, but he was definitely annoyed at being wrongly accused. However, he could understand why Lou Yu had misunderstood him, so what he actually wanted to know at this moment was the answer to another question.

He took a deep breath to calm his agitation before asking, "When you thought I had children and was still trying to seduce you, why didn't you question or criticize me? Instead, you willingly lowered yourself to be my concubine?"

Lou Yu did not answer, or rather, he was unsure of his own thoughts and did not know how to respond.

Tao Qiu continued, "I always thought we had an equal relationship, but after this incident, I realized... Lou Yu, you don't seem to think that way. You've placed yourself below me, admiring and respecting me. Even when you think I've done something wrong, you don't think about holding me accountable or punishing me, but rather about compromising yourself to tolerate me. Lou Yu, I don't think that's right."

As Tao Qiu spoke, Lou Yu raised his head. Looking at Tao Qiu's expression of heartache and helplessness, he also sorted out his own feelings.

"I'm sorry..." Lou Yu said in a low voice.

Lou Yu fell in love with Tao Qiu at first sight, and as time went by, that feeling gradually transformed into the love and reverence a believer has for the god they worship.

While faithfully believing in God, believers also yearn to touch God and draw closer to Him.

Tao Qiu's willingness to like him seemed more like a divine mercy and favor upon a believer. He was grateful and always maintained respect and humility when communicating with God.

When God made a mistake against him, his subconscious reaction was to defend God, to justify God's error, and to take the responsibility and burden upon himself in order to continue to receive God's favor.

He wasn't stupid, foolish, or a petty person, nor did he lack trust in Tao Qiu. On the contrary, he trusted Tao Qiu too much, believing that Tao Qiu's mistakes weren't mistakes at all. That's why he turned the knife on himself, preferring to suffer and feel aggrieved himself rather than let Tao Qiu suffer any blame.

Tao Qiu wiped away his tears, looked into his eyes and said, "You really have to say sorry, not only to me, but also to yourself."

Lou Yu rubbed against Tao Qiu's hand, his expression incredibly docile. Tao Qiu continued, "Although I always call you 'Little Yu, Little Dog' and ask you to serve me, it's just a little playful thing between us as a couple. It's not meant to belittle you. Just like in that matter, even if I'm the bottom, it doesn't mean I'm weaker than you. In matters of the heart, we are equals."

"So..." Tao Qiu pinched Lou Yu's face, puffing out her cheeks, and said angrily, "From now on, while you love me, you also have to love yourself, because I love you too. If you're not good to yourself, I'll be very sad."

Lou Yu tightened his grip on Tao Qiu's arms, then looked up to kiss his chin, like a puppy whining, "I'll remember this well. Qiuqiu, keep an eye on me from now on, okay?"

Tao Qiu gave him a kiss on the lips as a reward: "Absolutely, there can't be a next time."

A smile finally appeared on Lou Yu's worried face, "Yes, I'll do whatever Qiuqiu says."

After the two had cleared things up, Tao Qiu's attitude and body softened. He leaned against Lou Yu's lap, picked up the phone that Lou Yu had hastily tossed aside, and handed it back to him.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Lou Yu looks at these photos and videos again and feels that everything is different from before.

He thought he and Tao Qiu were two green bamboos standing side by side, and now, from now on, there will only be the two of them. Who knew that today, three small bamboo shoots that looked exactly like him and Tao Qiu suddenly sprouted up beside him? How could he not be surprised?

Lou Yu said almost with certainty, "Was it from that pregnancy?"

He and Tao Qiu had only done it once, and looking at the children's appearances, ages, and the time, it all matched up.

Tao Qiu nodded and briefly explained to Lou Yu how she had progressed step by step from discovering her pregnancy to accepting it, and finally giving birth to and incubating them.

At first, I thought I had forced you, and that you might hate me. Later, I was afraid you didn't like children, so I wanted to test you, which is why I kept it from you for so long. Will you blame me?

Lou Yu shook his head. "You? Gave birth to and raised three children all by yourself, it must have been very hard. I just didn't know, I didn't contribute anything, so how can I blame you? I feel sorry for you? I'm more than happy to see you like this."

Lou Yu could already imagine how pitiful and helpless Lou Qiu must have felt at the time, having heard Tao Qiu describe the panic and helplessness she felt when she discovered she was pregnant.

If he could, Lou Yu would love to travel back to that time immediately and stay by his side without leaving him for a moment.

Tao Qiu recalled the past, which now seems as distant as a past life.

"Actually, it was just a little difficult at the beginning, but it got much better as the kids grew up. They are very smart and sensible. I'm so glad I gave birth to them; they have brought me so much happiness that I never had before."

Tao Qiu pointed to a photo of herself with her three children and introduced them to Lou Yu one by one, "The one with black hair is the eldest, a boy named Tao Mo, Mo as in 'literary ink,' he has a steady personality and is very much like an older brother; the one next to him is the second eldest, Tao Xue, Xue as in 'snowflake,' a girl, lively and cheerful, and very good at making people happy; the youngest is also a girl, Tao Yuan, Yuan as in 'flying kite,' she is insightful and sensitive, she was very sickly when she was born, but now I have raised her to be strong and healthy."

After saying that, Tao Qiu asked Lou Yu, "I hadn't thought about acknowledging you before. I chose the child's name myself. Do you mind?"

Lou Yu said, "You gave birth to this child with so much difficulty, and you raised him all by yourself. You should be the one to choose the name, and the name you chose is very nice and suitable for the children."

Tao Qiu turned her head and nuzzled Lou Yu's face, quite satisfied with his answer. He truly deserved the man she had chosen.

"I haven't told the kids yet that you're their other dad, but don't worry, they have a very good impression of you. They'll definitely get along well after they recognize each other."

Lou Yu said understandingly, "They didn't know I existed before, so there's no need to rush to acknowledge me. Let's take it slow and get to know each other first, so as not to scare them."

Tao Qiu suggested, "Next time you go out, you could bring some clothes and toys for the kids. They love pretty things. They absolutely adore those sparkly little trinkets you gave me before. Look at the photos in the album."

He dug out photos of the kids he had dressed up before, some in bird shapes and some in human shapes.

The kids in the photos were already adorable, and then, thinking that they were all his own children, Lou Yu felt his heart melt into a pool of sweet, syrupy water.

Lou Yu quickly figured out his kids' preferences. "The eldest likes gold, the second likes bright and flashy things, and the third has purple eyes, so he likes purple."

Devoted to

"

Tao Qiu proudly stated, "Actually, they all like green, which is the color of my eyes."

Looking into Tao Qiu's eyes, Lou Yu smiled and said, "No wonder we're father and son. I also love the color of Qiuqiu's eyes; they're especially beautiful."

Chapter 69 Husband, Children, and a Warm Bed

Tao Qiu wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned in close, and chuckled softly, "Look as much as you want; we'll have to wait a long time to see each other again."

Lou Yu adoringly into Tao Qiu's eyes. "Can I take on more solo missions? That way I'll have a reason to come looking for you."

"There's no need to take on more missions; your safety should be the priority." Tao Qiu disagreed with Lou Yu's idea. "I'll be heartbroken if you get hurt, and what will happen to me and the child if something goes wrong?"

His fingers ran through Lou Yu's hair, stroking it as if soothing an overly excited puppy. "Whenever you come, the children and I will be here waiting for you. We only want you to be safe and sound; everything else is secondary. Promise me, okay?"

Lou Yu realized that his workload at the base was indeed very heavy, leaving him little time for frequent missions. Moreover, if he were to go out all the time, he would likely attract attention.

It wasn't just Lou Quan, but also the informants from the other companies in the base.

He and Lou Quan are considered to be in a community of shared interests. Even if Lou Quan wants to use his relationship with Snow Bird to gain more benefits, he only dares to test the waters for now in order not to completely offend him.