Bai Ruo was the daughter of Husband's Comrade-in-arms.
At that time, Husband and his team were carrying out a special mission abroad, one that was extremely dangerous.
One wrong move could cost them their lives.
Husband was just a rookie then, executing such an important mission for the first time.
His Comrade-in-arms was many years his senior.
Due to lack of experience, Husband fell into an enemy ambush and nearly lost his life.
That Comrade-in-arms risked his life to save him but sacrificed himself in the process.
Husband felt deeply guilty about this.
When visiting the Comrade-in-arms's family, his wife, unable to bear the loss of her loved one, took her own life.
She left behind Bai Ruo, who was just over a year old at the time.
Husband couldn't bear to see his Comrade-in-arms's only bloodline end up in an orphanage, so he adopted her.
At that time, he and his future wife weren't even married yet.
To give Bai Ruo a healthy and happy family, they never told her about this.
She and Husband truly raised her as their own daughter.
Although she wanted to make Yun Xiaoxiao her goddaughter, she couldn't disregard Bai Ruo's feelings.
Watching the small figure disappear through the doorway, Sheng Shuya sighed sadly.
It was just... not meant to be.
Bai Hongting silently patted her shoulder to comfort her.
He hadn't expected Bai Ruo's reaction to be so intense.
In his impression, their daughter had always been well-behaved and sensible.
At least she had never thrown tantrums or shown attitude in public like this.
"It's okay, I'm fine now. Let's go check on Ruo, it won't be good if she's alone with her thoughts."
Sheng Shuya took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this," Bai Hongting's eyes flashed with guilt.
If he hadn't insisted on bringing Bai Ruo home, his wife wouldn't have had to help him take care of a child while she was still young and in college.
Other young college students would travel and enjoy life during their breaks.
Only she had "foolishly" learned to be a mother while struggling to manage everything.
Honestly, he felt truly indebted to her.
"Don't say such silly things. Come on, let's go see Ruo."
"Mm."
They walked together towards Bai Ruo's room.
Hearing footsteps outside, Bai Ruo tried hard to rub her eyes, then started crying again sorrowfully.
Sheng Shuya and Bai Hongting exchanged glances and both sighed helplessly.
After comforting her for quite a while, Bai Ruo finally sat up, still sobbing.
"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry. I was too emotional earlier. I probably just couldn't accept it right away. If you really want to make sister Xiaoxiao your goddaughter, I... I... will learn to accept it gradually."
She spoke "sensibly," with red-rimmed eyes and a voice still tinged with grievance.
They looked at the abandoned meat pieces on the ground with wariness.
"Not good?" Yun Xiaoxiao rubbed her chin with one hand.
Little Cutie and Big Beauty glared at her.
What do you think?!
It's too spicy!
And too salty!
"Okay, got it."
Yun Xiaoxiao smiled brightly as if she'd found the answer.
Then she started humming while applying seasonings again.
This time, she was much more restrained.
She used much less of everything.
Finally, watching her eat the meat with great satisfaction, Little Cutie and Big Beauty suddenly understood.
She had used them as food tasters!
Both little ones protested strongly in dissatisfaction.
"Alright, alright, here's some for you. Don't worry, it's definitely delicious this time. I swear!"
Yun Xiaoxiao tore off two more pieces of meat and handed them over with a sincere expression.
The two little ones cautiously sniffed left and right before tentatively taking a taste.
Seeing there was nothing strange about it, they finally started eating heartily.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three of them sprawled out on the grass.
Yun Xiaoxiao patted her full little belly and let out a contented sigh.
"So full~"
What she didn't know was that three cars were speeding towards them from not far away.
"It smells so good! Sister, can you smell it?"
A seven-year-old boy fully opened the half-open window.
He breathed in the air eagerly.
"Mm, I can smell it."
A young woman around twenty years old nodded slightly.
Aliali: 6754d302bd5e46c308a67379
She had delicate features, giving off the air of a well-bred young lady.
Suddenly, the car started to skid.
"What's wrong?"
After the car stabilized, Mo Chun asked the middle-aged man in the driver's seat anxiously.
"Miss, the tire needs to be changed. Please step out first, we'll change it right away."
"Mm, okay."
Mo Chun got out of the car with her brother Mo Xing.
"Sister, can we go look over there?" Mo Xing pointed towards the front.
Mo Chun looked at the distant place giving off light and shook her head.
"When traveling, safety comes first. What if there are bad people ahead? We'd be in danger if we went there rashly."