A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Is Chapter 98 really that childish?

Jiang Weihai knew that Zhuang Qingxiang was a capable and good woman, and he had indeed grown quite fond of her during their time together.

But he always felt he wasn't good enough for her.

Master Jiang was furious, his hair practically standing on end: "What makes you unworthy of her? She's a widow, you're a widower, you're a perfect match in terms of status! She has two children to support, you don't, you're better off than her! You have a skill, a stable job, and a monthly salary, she has nothing, so how is that unworthy of her?"

Jiang Weihai kept his head down and remained silent.

He still felt he didn't deserve it.

Zhuang Qingxiang is beautiful, while I am short and fat, and always smell of cooking oil. Unlike her, even when she is working in the kitchen, she always smells clean and fragrant with soap.

Even if his father talked him out of turn, he still felt ashamed in front of her.

Seeing his pathetic state, Master Jiang was speechless and simply pulled Jiang Weihai in front of Zhuang Qingxiang.

"Xiao Zhuang, are you all done with your work? Let Wei Hai take you and the child home."

"Xiao Feng, it's getting late. You should hurry up and ask Mr. Ross what he wants to eat for dinner. Make sure to tell him in advance that there's no steak today."

Feng Wenhua responded and ran off with the cookies in hand.

With the cookies around, Mr. Ross probably won't be too picky about dinner.

As soon as Feng Wenhua left, Jiang Weihai went up and carried Xiao Chenglin on his back, and Zhuang Qingxiang carried Xiao Donghua on her back. The two of them walked home together.

As they walked and talked, Zhuang Qingxiang suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

She paused, her heart raced, and she couldn't help but look at the person.

Lu Congyue, carrying his luggage and looking travel-worn, stood not far away, watching her.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Weihai didn't see Lu Congyue. After taking a few steps, he noticed that Zhuang Qingxiang hadn't followed, so he asked in confusion.

Zhuang Qingxiang subconsciously avoided Lu Congyue's gaze, inexplicably feeling as if he had caught her in the act, and dared not meet his eyes.

Seeing her strange expression, Jiang Weihai asked her a couple more questions.

Instead of Zhuang Qingxiang's reply, Lu Congyue arrived.

"Master Jiang, I'm really sorry to trouble you. Please give me the child," Lu Congyue said in a deep voice.

Jiang Weihai was startled: "Hey... it's Factory Director Lu! Why didn't you make a sound? You scared me!"

Lu Congyue said expressionlessly, "Little Master Jiang is quite timid."

That tone...

Jiang Weihai didn't dare to say much. He turned his head to look at Xiao Chenglin, whom he was carrying on his back. The child had fallen asleep while he was being rocked all the way.

"The child is asleep, so let's not switch hands. I'll take him back; it's just a few steps away," Jiang Weihai said, mustering his courage.

Lu Congyue remained noncommittal, then turned to Zhuang Qingxiang and said, "Give Donghua to me. You've just recovered from your injuries, don't overexert yourself."

He took his adopted son into his arms with an air of absolute authority and strode home.

Zhuang Qingxiang and Jiang Weihai could both tell that he was in a bad mood, and they were both a little scared.

"Master Jiang, let me carry Chenglin back. You should hurry back and get busy too," Zhuang Qingxiang said to Jiang Weihai.

Jiang Weihai hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "I'll carry you to Director Lu's house. Director Lu is right, your injury has just healed, don't tire yourself out again."

Helpless, Zhuang Qingxiang could only let him escort her to the door before taking the sleeping Cheng Lin inside.

Watching her close the door, Jiang Weihai suddenly felt empty inside, as if he was about to lose something.

When Zhuang Qingxiang carried her son into the room, Lu Congyue had already put Xiao Donghua on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The child was fast asleep and hadn't woken up.

Lu Congyue frowned as he looked at the two sleeping children: "If they're asleep at this hour, they'll be staying up late again tonight."

"It's alright, I'll wake you up soon, and you'll be asleep by eight or nine o'clock tonight," Zhuang Qingxiang said softly.

Having not seen each other for several days, Zhuang Qingxiang was immediately reminded of what she had done that night. She was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet, and quickly took the diapers that the child had changed to wash.

"Director Lu, you haven't been back for several days. You must be missing your children, right? You stay with them. I'll go and get back to work."

She came out carrying a basin, and to her surprise, Lu Congyue followed her out and offered to help her pump water with the hand pump.

Zhuang Qingxiang lowered her head, looking like she was seriously washing diapers. Lu Congyue could only see her slender, fair neck and her fluffy, tousled hair.

Lu Congyue licked his lips and suddenly said, "Your relationship with Master Jiang is getting better and better."

Zhuang Qingxiang suddenly looked up at him, then quickly lowered her head again, whispering, "It's alright..."

Lu Congyue felt like he was on fire, burning with anxiety, wondering what was so great about Jiang Weihai that made him so friendly with him.

I also want to ask, after he's been gone for so many days, what does it mean that she's so calm when we meet again?

Does that mean he made room for them?

The air pressure around her was getting lower and lower, and Zhuang Qingxiang, with her head down, was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

She didn't even need to look up to know that Lu Congyue was angry.

He was probably angry that she was getting too close to Jiang Weihai.

But she had said before that she and Jiang Weihai were just ordinary colleagues, comrades, and friends, and that he was the one who was always overthinking things.

However, since Lu Congyue had just returned, Zhuang Qingxiang didn't want to argue with him.

She racked her brains to find a topic and started talking about Mr. Ross, the expert from abroad.

Lu Congyue knew about this, but he hadn't been able to get away to return. Now that he was back, he should go and see Mr. Ross as soon as possible.

But his body was not happy, and the soles of his feet seemed to be glued to the ground.

"Aren't you going to ask me where I've been these past few days?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Isn't this a business trip? I'm not from the factory, so I shouldn't ask too many questions," Zhuang Qingxiang said honestly.

Lu Congyue pursed his lips and said, "You can ask!"

Zhuang Qingxiang pondered his meaning and asked, "So... where did you go on your business trip these past few days?"

Lu Congyue turned to leave: "I'm not telling you yet!"

Zhuang Qingxiang stared in disbelief as Lu Congyue left without looking back.

Is Factory Director Lu really that naive? Has he been replaced?

After Zhuang Qingxiang finished her work, she was wondering whether to prepare dinner for Lu Congyue when Sun Yongxian returned with Xiao Qianyue.

"Sister Zhuang, Factory Director Lu said he won't be back for dinner tonight, so you don't need to wait for him."

"Oh," Zhuang Qingxiang replied, guessing that Lu Congyue would definitely have to entertain Mr. Ross and the comrades from other units who were there to learn.

Sure enough, when Lu Congyue returned that evening, he smelled of alcohol.

Zhuang Qingxiang poured a cup of hot water and placed it on the table. She told Lu Congyue to drink some water and then went back to her room to sleep.

When I can't sleep, I can't help but listen to the sounds outside.

I could hear Lu Congyue gulping down water and him going in and out; he was probably washing up.

Finally, she heard the creaking of him lying on the wire bed, and he seemed to curse something.

Zhuang Qingxiang immediately recalled that night; if the wire bed hadn't been so noisy, she and Lu Congyue might have already...

Zhuang Qingxiang's face immediately flushed. She covered her face and told herself not to think about it anymore and to go to sleep.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the inner room.

The knocking was very light and quiet, so that it wouldn't wake the children, but Zhuang Qingxiang sat up abruptly.