ASFTB 35: Husband, Teach Me Too

Jian Chengxi glanced at the teacher’s hopeless expression and gave a light cough.

The teacher said with some despair, “The trial class for the morning is over. Please take your child home quickly.”

Jian Chengxi smiled and said, “Thank you for your guidance.”

He walked into the corridor and, from a distance, saw his two children sitting in the back row of the classroom. All the other kids were neatly dressed in smart school uniforms, while only his children were still wearing the patched-up old clothes he had sewn himself back in the underground city.

Completely out of place.

As if they belonged to a different world.

Jian Chengxi waved to the children and said, “Suisui, Xiao Chen, time to go home.”

The two kids stood up as soon as they saw their father.

Jian Chengxi stepped into the classroom, and in an instant, all the children who had just been cried into silence by Li Chen turned their gazes toward him. Their eyes carried curiosity and scrutiny. An elf’s appearance was privileged no matter where—fair skin, delicate eyes, soft rounded lips, and especially those standard pointed ears unique to his kind. His steps were graceful and light, making him breathtakingly beautiful.

The crying slowly faded away.

Jian Chengxi walked over and picked up his son, saying, “Let’s go home.”

Li Chen was still holding his mech toy in his hand.

Jian Chengxi glanced at the class monitor, who had been crying the hardest, and thought to himself that he couldn’t let his child develop the habit of bullying others. So he told the boy in his arms, “You need to get along with your classmates. How could you make someone cry like that?”

Li Chen muttered in a low voice, “He was the one who insisted on competing with me.”

Jian Chengxi was momentarily at a loss. He said, “Well, competition is fine but you still can’t call your classmate stupid.”

Li Chen: “But I was just telling the truth.”

Jian Chengxi sighed and said, “Even so, you still have to be considerate of your classmates’ feelings. Come on, what did Daddy teach you—what should you do if there’s a conflict?”

In Jian Chengxi’s arms, the three-year-old boy Li Chen lowered his head, looked at the class monitor, and said in a deep voice, “I’m sorry.”

The monitor’s tears subsided a little.

He gave a small huff.

Li Chen spoke again in a quiet voice, “I shouldn’t have called you stupid.”

Jian Chengxi felt a bit relieved—this child could be taught after all. His own son wasn’t that really stubborn.

Li Chen gave the still slightly defiant class monitor a faint glance and tossed out, “You’re just not very smart.”

“…”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Then the monitor, who had only just managed to stop crying, burst into loud wails again!!

Jian Chengxi never expected his little troublemaker would say something like that. He gave the class monitor an awkward smile, then hurriedly scooped up his child and all but fled the classroom.

Outside, the director and teacher were left dumbfounded.

Holding Suisui’s hand, Jian Chengxi said, “We’ll be taking our leave now.”

The teacher quickly added, “Make sure to have everything prepared for the enrollment handbook in three days.”

Jian Chengxi nodded and left.

The director watched their departing figures, looking somewhat thoughtful, and asked the teacher, “Those two children of theirs… are they really that smart?”

The teacher sighed a little and nodded. “Although his methods are a bit extreme, he is indeed smarter than the other children. Especially considering they came from the underground city and had never received any knowledge or education of this kind before.”

The director nodded, then sighed. “They do have some talent but it’s a pity, being born as commoners.”

The teacher hesitated for a moment before saying, “Director, actually their family has already moved to Sky City and the children of the Grand Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies. Plus, with this kind of talent, I believe those two children definitely have limitless prospects ahead of them.” {T.N.: The author sometimes refers to Li Lingfeng as general or marshal but I translated it all as general before. Starting from this chapter, I’ll translate it as general or marshal.}

At the mention of Li Lingfeng, a trace of wariness did flicker across the director’s face.

But soon after—

The director gave a dismissive snort and said, “So what if that’s the case? Those who live underground, those born with defects, are simply not the same as us. Take that little girl for example, she’s a half-elf. Even if she has a gift for potion-making, so what? Someone like her, let alone being admitted into our academy—if not for having a Marshal as her father, a defective like that wouldn’t even have the qualifications to enroll. She isn’t even fit to carry shoes for our students!”

The teacher whispered, “But this was the Marshal’s instruction. He even said to make sure to report back to him after the child’s trial class.”

The director shot the teacher a glare. “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

Then—

The director dialed the military’s comm line, his face breaking into a fawning smile. “Hello? Is this Vice General Chen? Ah yes, yes, I’m the director of the kindergarten. I’m calling to give a report about the children. I wonder if the Marshal has time to speak?”

The teacher: “…”

That was quite the quick change of face, Director.

Jian Chengxi left the school with his two children.

On the way, he couldn’t help feeling heavy-hearted. After coming to the school, he had seen just how different the children from Sky City were compared to those from the Underground, and he had witnessed the liveliness and prosperity here. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to spend money, he was just afraid his children wouldn’t be able to fit in.

Li Suisui walked beside Jian Chengxi, the little girl’s pigtail braids swaying in the air.

Jian Chengxi lowered his head to look at her and asked, “Suisui, you came to a new school today, did you like it?”

Her pigtail braids swung as she lifted her face, nodding. “Yes, I liked it!”

Jian Chengxi, curious, asked, “Why is that?”

He thought his child would resist an unfamiliar environment.

Li Suisui answered softly, “Because the classrooms here have potion vials, and the potions can be used at will. Before, when Suisui was at school, I could only see them in drawings.”

A child’s words are always the most simple and pure.

No extra reasons or excuses, always so straightforward yet so real.

Jian Chengxi somewhat disliked the lofty attitude of the people of Sky City, but it was true that the very best resources of the entire planet were gathered here. From the moment children here were born, from the start of their education, the things that children of the Underground could only see in books, resources they couldn’t even hope to touch, were here nothing more than the most ordinary teaching tools.

Jian Chengxi looked at his younger son and asked, “What about you, Xiao Chen?”

Li Chen was always of a quiet and reserved nature, never showing his emotions too much. At this moment, he spoke, “Here, I can get to work with mecha parts.”

Jian Chengxi said, “Didn’t the schools in the Underground have them before?”

Li Chen shook his head. “No.”

Li Suisui, on the other hand, was very happy. A smile appeared on her childish little face. “Suisui can finally be as powerful as the Queen!”

Children were still too young to hide their emotions.

But as Jian Chengxi looked at their faces, he couldn’t help but inappropriately recall the things from his dream.

His daughter was called a black sorcerer, and his son’s mecha possessed destructive power of frightening strength. It was precisely because of their innate abilities and talents that they had taken such an extreme and dangerous path. If, in this lifetime, the children could be allowed to come into contact with and learn different things, perhaps the disaster could be avoided.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions.

But then he heard his daughter softly humming a tune and saw her little face tilted upward.

Jian Chengxi gently asked, “Suisui, you encountered potions today—are you this happy?”

Li Suisui nodded vigorously and said, “Happy!”

Jian Chengxi held his son in his arms. He was still so thin, and his injured leg had not fully healed.

“Daddy.” Li Suisui tugged on Jian Chengxi’s hand, her eyes seeming to shine with light. “Will stories really come true? Can Suisui also go to school here and learn to make magic mirrors?”

In her eyes, there was still a light that had not been extinguished.

In a child’s heart, there was worship for the heroes in fairy tales.

Every child, in their childhood, has imagined becoming the little hero of some story. Those wild and unrestrained fantasies make up the hopes of childhood.

To be able to study potions—that was his daughter’s dream.

To be able to study mecha, to stand up again—that was his son’s dream.

Dreams are never divided into noble or lowly.

Everyone has the right to dream, no matter what their beliefs are.

He had no right to strip his children of the rights that belonged to them.

Jian Chengxi was silent for a moment, then finally smiled and said, “Mm, you will.”

Li Suisui asked, “Really?”

Jian Chengxi nodded. “Of course it’s real!”

“At that time, with technology so advanced, our Xiao Chen will definitely become a very powerful mechanical engineer!” Jian Chengxi said with a broad smile as he held his son. “How impressive that will be!”

Li Suisui raised her hand and said, “Then Suisui will also become a queen!”

Jian Chengxi teased her, “Are you going to marry a king?”

The little girl shook her head and said, “All a king does is raise princesses, I don’t like that. Suisui doesn’t want a king—Suisui will be an amazing woman on her own!”

Jian Chengxi: “…”

Good grief.

You’re already much stronger than that love-brained queen.

On the way out of the school, Jian Chengxi had more or less completely sorted out his thoughts.

After getting in the car, the driver asked, “Sir, shall we go back now?”

Jian Chengxi, holding the enrollment list, said, “This school even requires keeping a family magic beast. Our family doesn’t have one right now. May I ask where we should buy it?”

The driver replied, “You’ll need to purchase that at the magic beast market. There are many breeds available. Since it’s to be kept at home, should Madam perhaps discuss it with the Marshal?”

Jian Chengxi nodded and said, “Yes.”

After all, this wasn’t something that concerned only him.

When leaving the house in the morning, Li Lingfeng had given him a card. He didn’t know exactly how much money was in it, and to prevent any accidents, it was still better to make contact.

…

The call was placed through the communicator.

Inside the strictly guarded military headquarters building, officers from each department sat according to rank.

Today was the first meeting of the newly appointed Marshal. Many of Sky City’s officers had originally served under Aike, so there was much dissatisfaction, and just moments ago they had been making all kinds of sarcastic and snide remarks in unison.

Until Li Lingfeng, right then and there, pierced the shoulder of the loudest and most powerful one with a single slash, pinning him to the wall.

The chilling screams filled the entire conference room.

The once noisy crowd fell into a terrifying silence, and those sitting closest had gone pale with fright.

They were all soldiers, yet none of them had ever seen a leader so ruthless, so decisive, and so cruel. They had originally looked down on him for being from the Underground and wanted to make things difficult, but now they didn’t even dare to breathe a word.

“I’ve always been a man who values democracy.” Li Lingfeng’s cold, merciless gaze swept across the conference room. “Does anyone else have an opinion to voice?”

…

The room was deathly silent.

Until the shrill ring of the communicator broke the stillness.

Li Lingfeng glanced at the communicator, then rose to his feet. “I’ll take this call outside. Make yourselves at home.”

The moment he left, it was as if the suffocating pressure inside the room finally dispersed. That life-saving call had many officers of Sky City on the verge of tears—at last, that King of Hell was gone!

Li Lingfeng stepped out onto the balcony, gazing at the floating lighthouse outside. “What is it?”

On the other end, Jian Chengxi’s soft and clear voice sounded, “Did I disturb your work?”

That voice, like a spring of clear water—bright and pure, just like the person himself—somehow washed away the violent, bloodthirsty edge that had been gnawing at Li Lingfeng’s mind, along with the lingering ferocity still clinging to him.

Li Lingfeng’s voice was low and hoarse. “No.”

Jian Chengxi let out a breath of relief. “I’ve already taken the children to the school. They really like it. The conditions here are so much better than in the underground city. Both of them are very happy.”

Li Lingfeng’s expression softened slightly. “Is that so?”

“Mhm!” Jian Chengxi was a perceptive man, and his voice carried a gentle warmth. “It’s all thanks to you, General.”

Li Lingfeng replied in an even tone, “I’m their father. It’s only right.”

Jian Chengxi knew that as well. It was just that he still hadn’t gotten used to suddenly having a husband, and the children suddenly having a father. Though in time, he knew he would have to adjust.

Just then—

A childish voice piped up on the other end of the call, “Daddy, can I really talk to Father with this?”

Jian Chengxi nodded and said, “That’s right, come here, Sui Sui, say hello to your father.”

The call switched to video mode.

On the other side of the screen, Li Lingfeng saw his little wife sitting in the car holding their child. Their three-year-old daughter’s tender little face was lit with a smile as she leaned forward and said, “Father, Suisui had class at school today.”

The little girl’s voice was crisp and pleasant.

Li Lingfeng said, “Oh, really?”

Li Suisui lifted her little face and said, “Suisui did really well. None of the other classmates finished the task as fast as Suisui!”

Jian Chengxi carried the child to the side, and thinking about the trouble his two little rascals had caused, he quickly said to the person on the other end of the call, “Suisui poisoned all the school’s rabbits until they fainted, and Xiao Chen, during his mechanics class, while the other kids were still learning, he had already dismantled the mech parts. When I went to pick him up, the kid next to him was still crying.”

These were all just trivial little matters.

But he still shared them, because a father should also be involved in the process of his children growing up.

Jian Chengxi originally thought that when Li Lingfeng heard this, he would feel the children were a bit too mischievous. After all, he himself couldn’t manage to discipline these two little rascals, so at the very least, as their father, he would scold them a bit. With that thought, he brought the two children over, ready for them to be lectured.

Who would have expected—

After listening, Li Lingfeng said, “Very good.”

The marshal, who had just been ruthlessly disciplining his subordinates with an iron hand, nodded and said, “In all things, one should strive to be first.”

Looking at the two children behind the camera, the man’s stern face carried an innate air of pride. He raised his brows noncommittally and said unhurriedly, “As expected of my children.”

Li Chen and Li Suisui exchanged a glance.

Smiles surfaced in their eyes.

Li Suisui grew even more excited, turning back and saying: “Daddy, look, Father praised me!”

Jian Chengxi: “…”

Heh.

You three, go on over there!

Finally managing to move past that topic, Jian Chengxi asked Li Lingfeng about getting a pet. Li Lingfeng said it was fine to buy one, as long as it wasn’t a too-bad-tempered magical beast.

Jian Chengxi agreed immediately.

This was also his first time visiting the magical beast market. The driver explained from the front, “In the magical beast market, the beasts are divided into different levels. The lowest level are just ordinary mutated animals, like rabbits or tigers. The higher-level magical beasts are intelligent and possess special abilities. Dragon hatchlings and phoenix hatchlings are the most unique.”

Jian Chengxi, who had never seen such things before, said, “Then they must be very expensive.”

The driver nodded and replied, “Of course. Generally speaking, those two types of high-level magical beasts aren’t found on the market. They live in very distant star systems and are extremely rare creatures. In recent years they’ve nearly gone extinct—it seems only the royal family can own them anymore.”

Jian Chengxi felt a bit regretful.

He had originally wanted to see what dragons actually looked like!

The group entered the magical beast market.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were greeted by the cries of various beasts and the bustle of passing customers. Around them, the beast shops and stalls displayed cages of all sizes, each one holding different rare and exotic creatures.

The merchants were shouting, “Come and see, freshly caught Wuqin Birds!”

Jian Chengxi looked over. It was a brightly colored bird, its feathers tinged with soft, childlike pastel hues. It really was eye-catching.

The driver, acting as a guide, said, “These birds are usually very popular with children and are also beloved by many nobles. I’ve heard they can even mimic human speech.”

Holding the two children in his arms, Jian Chengxi asked, “Do you like it?”

The Wuqin Bird seemed to truly understand human speech, and in an even more flamboyant display, it showed off its beautiful body inside the cage, flapping its wings vigorously.

Li Suisui pouted and said, “Not cool at all.”

Li Chen was even more concise, “Ugly.”

The Wuqin Bird: “…”

Holding the two children, Jian Chengxi smiled and said, “If you don’t like it, then let’s keep looking.”

As they continued strolling, the magical beast market turned out to have quite a variety of creatures. Many of them were species Jian Chengxi had never seen before, dazzling enough to make one’s eyes spin, but none really caught their fancy.

With a sigh in his heart, Jian Chengxi said, “How about we wait a couple of days and let Father come with us…”

His words came to an abrupt stop.

The two children had also seen it—at the very end of the street, there was a cage on display.

Inside the cage was a creature that looked pitch-black all over. Its body was covered in blood, and its eyes brimmed with murderous intent. The stall owner was lashing it with a whip, perhaps he was hitting too hard, because even the cage shook with the force. Yet the magical beast refused to yield.

Jian Chengxi frowned deeply and, instinctively, asked, “What are you doing?”

The driver stepped in quickly and told the stall owner, “Stop hitting it.”

The stall owner, who had been a little impatient, glanced at the few of them. When his gaze finally fell on the military insignia on the driver’s clothes, he immediately became much more compliant and said, “This is a magical beast we bought from another planet last month. The others were obedient and sold quickly, but this one—that damned thing—it won’t respond to either gentleness or force. I think we should just beat it to death and throw it away!”

Jian Chengxi looked toward the cage.

Inside, the creature stared back at them warily.

For a young Wind Abyss Dragon, these humans were its greatest enemies.

Of course it knew how precious the dragon race was to them, but even in death it would never submit to these people!

Hiding behind the hollow of a tree, it had witnessed its father and mother cruelly captured by the royal family of Sky City, its kin exploited and humiliated, the freedom-loving dragons imprisoned in the palace for all eternity.

So…

It deliberately shattered its own horn and tore off its own leg—never again would it allow its true identity to be exposed!

Even if it meant death, it would never stay with these people of Sky City!

Jian Chengxi looked at it thoughtfully and asked, “What kind of species is this?”

The stall owner said, “It fell into the trap along with the other little beasts at the time, it should be some kind of magical beast cub.”

Li SuiSui leaned in to look at the magical beast in the cage, then spoke, “I know.”

Jian Chengxi’s eyes lit up. “Suisui knows?”

Li Suisui nodded and said, “I saw it in a book—it’s a dog!”

The dragon cub looked up in disbelief: “??”

Li Suisui opened her mouth wide and said, “Daddy, it’s looking at me, Suisui got it right!”

Jian Chengxi leaned in, a smile appearing on his face, “Seriously, it really might be a dog.”

The dragon cub: “…”

These two had better not be serious.

Jian Chengxi held his son in his arms and asked, “Xiao Chen, do you like dogs?”

Li Chen’s gaze met that of the blood-covered creature in the cage. It was so wretched, and under his stare it grew even more guarded and wary.

But—

Li Chen said, “I like it.”

Jian Chengxi was a little surprised. “Why?”

“Because its leg is injured,” Li Chen’s voice was low. “It’s a dog with nothing but its pride.”

The dragon cub: “?”

How presumptuous!

I already said I’m not a dog!!

Jian Chengxi looked at the excited little cub in the cage and sighed with emotion. “It really does seem like it, and it seems to like you too. The moment you speak, it shakes its head.”

The dragon cub: “?”

I’m shaking from anger!

Seeing the palm-sized, scar-covered little “dog,” Jian Chengxi couldn’t help but feel pity. Even if they couldn’t keep it, buying it just to set it free wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The driver said, “Madam, since it’s going to be the children’s family pet, shouldn’t it be something more presentable? This little dog is rather too shabby.”

Jian Chengxi hesitated for a moment.

Li Suisui tugged on Jian Chengxi and said, “Daddy, Suisui wants to raise the little dog.”

Jian Chengxi asked curiously, “Why?”

He thought it was simply because she liked small animals. He hadn’t expected his child to be so compassionate, this moved the old father a little.

Who would have thought—

Li Suisui lifted her little face and said, “Because A-Hu brought a dog to scare Suisui and gege. So when this little dog grows up, Suisui wants to walk it around to scare people too!”

Jian Chengxi / the dragon cub: “…”

That’s enough already.

In the end, they still bought the little dog and took it home.

On the way back, the once ferocious little dog seemed as if it had suffered some kind of blow, looking a bit dispirited.

Jian Chengxi placed it in the cage in the garden, then took the two children to the bathroom to wash up. After finally getting clean, the sky had already begun to grow late.

The student handbook for kindergarten had also been delivered.

Jian Chengxi said, “Xiao Chen, Suisui, there’s homework in this handbook. The teacher said it’s for class placement, so you need to finish the assignments on the test papers and hand them in in a couple of days.”

The two children answered in unison.

Jian Chengxi handed them the homework and went to prepare dinner himself.

When he came back, he saw the children were still working on their assignments, but they seemed to be having a bit of difficulty with them.

“What’s wrong?” Jian Chengxi walked over and patted both children on the head. “Is there a problem you don’t understand? Daddy will teach you.”

Li Suisui looked up and asked, “Can Daddy teach Suisui?”

Jian Chengxi picked up the workbook as if he had just heard a joke, chuckling confidently, “What’s the big deal? They’re just kindergarten problems. For Daddy, this is simply a piece of ca…”

His gaze fell on the workbook.

The twisting, winding problems on it looked like astronomical figures, as complicated as Morse code!

Li Suisui’s childish voice piped up as she pointed with her little finger at one of the questions, “It’s this one.”

Jian Chengxi’s hand trembled slightly.

“Daddy?” Li Suisui’s round eyes looked up at him, her voice full of doubt as she asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything, Daddy?”

Jian Chengxi: “…”

This shouldn’t be, kindergarten questions couldn’t possibly be this difficult!

Not wanting to lose face in front of his children, Jian Chengxi braced himself, holding the workbook and saying, “Daddy needs to think about this one. Suisui, you and your gege work on something else first—Daddy will go to another table to work it out.”

Li Suisui nodded obediently. “Okay!”

Jian Chengxi sat down at another table, staring at the problem in his hands and sinking into deep thought.

No matter how hard he racked his brains, he just couldn’t understand why the math on this planet was so complicated. Was this really something a human could come up with?!

The system popped up and said:【Host, if it really doesn’t work, just give up. Admitting you’re illiterate isn’t shameful.】

Jian Chengxi stubbornly replied, “No way. I don’t believe I can’t even do kindergarten problems!”

…

When Li Lingfeng came back, there was now an incredibly ugly dog in the garden at home.

The man watched for a while, fell silent for a moment, then finally stepped forward and walked into the house. From a distance, he could already see his two children bent over their homework, while his little wife held a workbook not far away—a truly harmonious scene.

The children were the first to notice him.

Li Suisui called out, “Father.”

Li Lingfeng nodded and walked over. “Doing homework?”

Li Suisui nodded.

Li Lingfeng asked, “Are there any questions you don’t understand?”

In her childish, obedient voice, Li Suisui said, “Yes, Suisui doesn’t know how to do this one.”

Li Lingfeng glanced over it briefly, then picked up a pen and quickly wrote out the solution. In a deep voice, he said, “This problem follows the same method as the previous one, it’s just in a different order. Keep working on it. If there’s something you don’t understand, come ask me again.”

Li Suisui looked at the workbook, then nodded. “Okay.”

After finishing instructing the children, Li Lingfeng walked out of the study and saw Jian Chengxi slumped over the table outside, looking utterly defeated. His heart sank and he asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

He thought his little wife must have run into some kind of difficulty.

After all, it seemed he had never before seen him looking so frustrated.

It was as if his whole face were covered in gloom, wearing the expression of someone who had suffered a heavy blow.

The last time he had seen that expression on him was when Wang Zhe died.

Could it be…

Was he thinking about that lover again?

A chill flickered in Li Lingfeng’s eyes, but before he could speak again—

“Um…” Jian Chengxi pulled out a sheet of paper from his arms, with a kindergarten problem written on it. His smile was sheepish, a little timid, “Why don’t… you teach me too?”