ASFTB 11: My Husband Had Another Man

In the evening, after chatting with the child, Jian Chengxi returned to the bedroom.

He didn’t sleep very soundly that night.

Thunder suddenly rumbled outside, and a bolt of lightning split the sky with a deafening roar. It felt like dark clouds were pressing down from above, and the wild wind outside swept up sand and dust. Even their treehouse seemed to be swaying along with it.

Jian Chengxi woke up from his sleep with a start. He looked out the window, a bit flustered, and said, “What’s going on?”

The system replied: 【Severe weather conditions】

Just then, the information wristband—worn by every citizen of the Empire—started to ring.

【Dear citizens, due to an unknown disturbance from a wormhole, changes have occurred in the atmosphere. Extreme weather may occur tonight. There is a risk in going outside. Residents of Sky City, please take proper protective measures. Residents of the Underground City, please remain indoors to avoid danger】

After reading the message, Jian Chengxi said, “A wormhole? Is there a war?”

The system, unusually, began prompting again: 【Host, your life safety level has dropped to 10%. Please take precautions to protect yourself】

Jian Chengxi was startled. “No way, what the hell is this? You have this kind of function too? What kind of danger am I in? Don’t tell me there really is going to be a war?”

The system went silent.

This thing always dropped the ball at critical moments.

Jian Chengxi was frustrated, but soon he thought, if he wasn’t safe, then in the event of a war or something similar, his child would be in danger too. With the thunder rumbling outside, he didn’t even know if the two little ones were scared.

Putting on his shoes, Jian Chengxi headed to the children’s room.

When he opened the door, the room was quiet.

Jian Chengxi felt a wave of relief, but as he walked in, he saw a small lump bulging under the covers on the bed. If you looked closely, you could even see it trembling slightly.

“Boom!”

Another bolt of lightning flashed outside.

The thunder that followed was deafening, as if it were tearing the entire sky apart. Torrential rain poured down, and the whole treehouse swayed in the storm, creaking loudly, sounding especially frightening.

Jian Chengxi walked to the side of Li Suisui’s bed. He sat down and gently placed his hand on the blanket, speaking softly, “Suisui?”

The little lump under the blanket seemed to stop trembling.

Jian Chengxi’s voice was gentle as he patted the child’s small body and said, “Daddy’s here. Don’t be afraid.”

There were a few seconds of silence.

Amid the rumbling thunder, a small corner of the blanket was lifted, revealing the girl’s bright eyes, her eyes rimmed red and misty with tears. She suddenly sat up and threw herself into Jian Chengxi’s arms. “Daddy?”

Jian Chengxi caught her and patted her back. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Nothing to be afraid of.”

Li Suisui cried softly. No matter how well-behaved she usually was, she was still only a three-year-old child so how mature could she really be. Her whole body was a little cold, still shaken from the fright.

Jian Chengxi patiently and gently comforted her before asking, “If you were scared, why didn’t you go find Daddy with your gege?”

The little one in his arms froze for a moment, sniffled, and didn’t dare speak.

Jian Chengxi looked at her, silently asking. The girl stayed quiet, and he didn’t rush her. His gentle eyes looked at her like silent encouragement.

Finally—

Li Suisui lowered her head and said in a small voice, “Because Daddy said before that kids who get scared of thunder and rain aren’t brave, and they’re useless.”

Jian Chengxi: “Huh?”

“If I cry, Daddy will get really annoyed.” Li Suisui wiped her tears with her head down. “So I didn’t dare go find you.”

…

Damn that original host.

She’s only three years old so how brave could she possibly be!

What, were he expecting these two kids to grow up and become supervillains bent on destroying the world?

Jian Chengxi immediately patted the child’s back and said, “Everything Daddy said before was nonsense. Thunder and rain really are scary. It’s totally normal for you to be afraid. Come on, Daddy will take you and your gege back to bed.”

Jian Chengxi picked up Li Chen, who was lying on the other side of the bed.

The combined weight of the two kids made Jian Chengxi grunt.

This body was already a bit weak, and he didn’t get much exercise normally. Now, carrying both children at once was a bit too much, his arms were already starting to give.

Li Suisui hesitated, then asked, “Daddy, maybe I should get down and walk by myself?”

Jian Chengxi’s voice had slowed and deepened, but he still insisted, “No, no, Daddy can carry you.”

Li Suisui asked in confusion, “Really?”

Jian Chengxi nodded, forcing a smile as he walked out, “Of course.”

“…”

Daddy, you’re so stubborn.

But even though she thought that, seeing her Daddy insist on carrying her despite clearly struggling, and not leaving her behind, Li Suisui buried her head in Jian Chengxi’s chest and rubbed against him without thinking, feeling genuinely happy.

She decided that starting tomorrow, she would be nicer to Daddy.

She would temporarily let go of her grudge over how mean he used to be.

Temporarily!

…

Jian Chengxi carried the children back to his own bedroom.

The kids’ room bed was too small and his own bed was bigger. He had the two children lie down on the bed, then went to find a blanket to cover them. Outside, the wind and rain howled, and this worn-out treehouse didn’t hold much warmth.

Jian Chengxi let the two kids lie under the blanket, then sat beside them and gently patted their backs. “Go to sleep now. As long as you stay under the blanket, there’s nothing to be afraid of. The blanket has a barrier and monsters can’t hurt kids who are hiding underneath. Suisui and Xiao Chen can sleep well tonight. Daddy put magic on the blanket!”

“…”

Li Chen and Li Suisui exchanged a glance.

Daddy’s never going to grow up, is he.

Jian Chengxi let the two kids stay in bed while he stood up.

The junky house the original host had bought was terribly built. With the wild wind and rain outside, it had actually started leaking. This was a treehouse, if he didn’t catch the water in time, the whole place might be soaked through by morning.

Jian Chengxi grabbed two basins to catch the water.

Li Suisui sat up on the bed and said, “Daddy, I’ll help you…”

“Kids are responsible for sleeping well. Grown-ups handle little things like this.” Jian Chengxi gave her a firm look. “Daddy is the pillar of this household!”

Li Suisui pouted.

Daddy really looked down on her.

She wasn’t just some kid who only cried and made a fuss.

Jian Chengxi searched the house for any spare basins and placed them under the leaks, but even then it wasn’t enough. He started to worry because what if the treehouse couldn’t withstand the storm and ended up flooded?

The second floor, where the kids were sleeping, should still be relatively safe.

He had to move all the valuable items from the first floor upstairs.

Jian Chengxi went around checking the first floor, then carried all the valuables and boxes he could find up to his bedroom.

Li Suisui and Li Chen sat on the bed, watching him work.

After he finished moving everything, Jian Chengxi wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Finally done.”

Li Suisui asked in a small voice, “Daddy, what are you doing?”

Jian Chengxi replied, “Daddy’s moving things. I’m worried the first floor might get flooded, so I’m putting all the valuables upstairs.”

The two children exchanged a glance.

Finally—

It was Li Chen who spoke. “Daddy, you could’ve just stored everything in your personal space. You didn’t have to carry it all up here.”

Jian Chengxi froze, blinking.

Huh?

He tapped on his info wristband and discovered that, sure enough, there was an option for personal storage tucked underneath. His eyes widened in disbelief—he felt like a complete idiot. His own kids were smarter than he was!

Then Li Suisui said, “Ge, maybe Daddy did it on purpose so he could check everything carefully and make sure nothing was left behind.”

Jian Chengxi’s eyes lit up. He covered his mouth, gave a little cough, and quickly followed her lead to save face, “Yes, exactly what Suisui said!”

Li Suisui and Li Chen exchanged another glance.

Alright, got it.

Daddy definitely just forgot.

…

With the rain leaking in, Jian Chengxi didn’t dare sleep. The thunder outside was deafening, bolts of lightning splitting across the sky. The wormhole outside the planet seemed to be constantly shifting. In weather like this, no one could really sleep.

Jian Chengxi decided to just start sorting through old belongings.

The original host had actually been pretty poor and there wasn’t much of anything. He rummaged around and finally found a box.

When he opened it, he saw a few pieces of old adult men’s clothing. Just from the size, it was clear they didn’t belong to the original host.

There were also a few books.

Jian Chengxi flipped one open and saw dense pages of words and numbers. After turning a few pages, he closed it again. For someone like him, a total academic slacker, he couldn’t understand a thing.

There wasn’t much in the box. Just as he sighed and was about to close it, a photo suddenly slipped out from between the pages of a book. It looked old, and at the bottom of the photo was a man’s handwriting—sharp and elegant. Using the lightning outside for light, he made out the three characters: Li Lingfeng.

Jian Chengxi said in confusion, “Li Lingfeng?”

The system popped up to explain: 【That’s your husband】

Jian Chengxi’s eyes lit up. He still didn’t know what his supposedly long-dead husband even looked like. So he quickly turned the photo over and saw two people standing together in the picture. One of them had a tall, straight posture and was dressed in a brown suit. He looked very young. Because of the photo’s age and the creases on it, the man’s face was hard to make out. But judging by his height and bearing, he was probably a very imposing figure.

Next to the man stood someone dressed in flamboyant, gaudy clothes.

From head to toe in red and green like some kind of butterfly, with powder smeared on his face, he couldn’t have looked more blinding if he tried.

Jian Chengxi sucked in a sharp breath.

From the bed, Li Suisui asked curiously, “Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“I didn’t expect this…” Jian Chengxi stared at the photo, heartbroken. “Suisui, your Father—before he married me—he actually had another man.”

Li Suisui scooted over.

Jian Chengxi pointed to the man in the loud outfit and said, “Look, how ugly is that? What was he thinking? His taste was awful and he’s nowhere near as good-looking as I am, right?”

Under the flash of lightning outside, Li Suisui and Li Chen finally got a clear look at the man in the photo.

They fell silent at the same time.

They really didn’t know how to tell Daddy that the ugly man in the photo was actually him.