Courtyard House: A Veteran Returns Home and Becomes a Father

Su Mo's Adam's apple bobbed. Five years of longing, guilt, and concern choked in his throat, and all the words he wanted to say finally turned into a hoarse "Mmm." He stood up, ignoring the "disguise" on his legs, and walked towards her step by step. He opened his arms and hugged the person he had been longing for tightly.

The delicate body in his arms was as soft as cotton, yet it trembled uncontrollably. Scalding tears soaked his shoulder through the coarse military uniform. They were the grievances of five years of loneliness, the torment of worry day and night, and the ecstasy of a long-awaited reunion.

"Mommy! Why are you crying while hugging this lame uncle?"

"Hey! Why isn't this uncle lame anymore?"

Niannian ran over, tugging at Xia Wanqing's clothes with her little hands. She looked up at Su Mo with a confused expression, her bright black eyes fixed on him, and mumbled, "Did he bully you? I'll beat him up for you!"

As she spoke, she gently punched Su Mo's leg twice with her little fist. The force was soft and weak, but it made Su Mo's heart tremble.

He released Xia Wanqing and looked down at the little one in front of him, only to suddenly realize that the child was four or five years old, and he had been gone for exactly five years. Half of the child's features resembled Wanqing's, and the other half resembled his own. This was no other family's child; it was clearly his child!

Before he left, he had just finished sleeping with Wanqing. Although it was only for one night, he couldn't resist the fact that it happened so many times (13 times, purely fictional, please do not imitate). Unexpectedly, he got pregnant on the first try.

It must have been after he went to the battlefield that she found out that for the past five years, she had been carrying her pregnant belly, giving birth and raising the child all by herself, supporting the family!

Su Mo's eyes instantly reddened, a sour feeling rushing to his nose. He squatted down, looking at Nian Nian at eye level, and gently brushed away the stray hairs on her forehead. His fingertips touched the child's soft hair, and his voice choked with emotion, yet he spoke each word with utmost solemnity: "Little girl, I am not an uncle."

Xia Wanqing stood to the side, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at the father and daughter. Tears welled in her eyes, but she smiled and nodded gently.

Looking at the child's features, so identical to his own, Su Mo felt a mix of guilt and joy. He gently stroked the child's little face and said, word by word:

"I am your father."

Upon hearing this, the courtyard fell silent for a moment. Even the master's wife inside paused in her vegetable-picking movements, before resuming activity but without making a sound, clearly leaving herself some space.

Niannian's little fist, which she was holding up, froze in mid-air. Her big, dark eyes widened, her little mouth opened into an "O" shape, and her face was full of disbelief. Her little head seemed to be stuck, and she couldn't turn around for a long time.

She glanced at her mother, whose face was streaked with tears but whose eyes were full of tenderness, then at Su Mo, whose eyes were red-rimmed and filled with doting affection. She fiddled with the hem of her clothes and muttered softly, "Dad? Mom said Dad is a great hero, that he went to fight bad guys. You're not a hero, you're lame..."

"That's not right either, you weren't limping just now, were you? Were you limping or not?"

Xia Wanqing knelt down, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and also wiping away the tear stains on Su Mo's cheeks. Her fingertips traced the thin scars on his face—medals left from the battlefield. She held Niannian's little hand and placed it in Su Mo's broad palm, her voice gentle yet choked with sobs: "Niannian, this is Daddy. Daddy is a great hero who drove away the bad guys. The scars on his legs are from when he fought the bad guys. Daddy is home."

Su Mo's palms were warm, tightly holding his daughter's soft little hand. The delicate touch made his nose tingle. He had fought bloody battles in the midst of gunfire his whole life without ever frowning, but now, facing this little life that had suddenly appeared and was connected to him by blood, his heart was filled with tender guilt.

Little did he know that after he left, Wanqing became pregnant, leaving her to endure ten months of pregnancy alone, to see the child grow from infancy to toddlerhood, and to weather all the storms of those five years.

"Daddy..." Niannian called out tentatively, her voice soft and uncertain. She gently squeezed Su Mo's fingers with her little hand, as if to confirm that the person in front of her was real.

"Yes!" Su Mo responded quickly and hoarsely, her heart melting into that one word, "Dad." Tears finally fell from the corners of her eyes, but a smile remained on her lips.

The little one's eyes lit up instantly upon receiving a response, like they were filled with starlight. She stretched out her little arms and threw herself into Su Mo's arms, her soft, sweet voice trembling with a hint of tears: "Daddy! Niannian has a daddy now! Daddy's finally home!"

Su Mo caught his daughter steadily and held her tightly in his arms. Her small body was soft and carried a faint scent of soap, the scent of soap that Wan Qing often used—the scent of home. He gently patted his daughter's back, again and again. This was the warmest and most reassuring moment he had experienced in five years.

Watching the father and daughter embrace, Xia Wanqing leaned against the door frame, wiping away tears, but couldn't help but smile. The five years of waiting and suffering had finally been worth it.

Su Mo, holding Niannian in his arms, stood up and walked to Xia Wanqing's side. He held her hand tightly with his other hand, the warmth of his palm passing through his fingertips, melting away the five years of estrangement. Looking at his wife and daughter before him, his Adam's apple bobbed, his voice gentle yet firm: "Wanqing, I'm sorry for making you suffer. I'm back, and I'll never leave again."

As he spoke, he subtly reduced the force of his feigned limp, and his slightly lame leg instantly returned to normal. The movement was so natural that it went unnoticed by Nian Nian. However, Xia Wanqing keenly noticed. She glanced up at him, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. Su Mo winked at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Xia Wanqing instantly understood, shaking her head with a mixture of helplessness and amusement. A weight lifted from her heart—he was still the same quick-witted Su Mo, unchanged.

The master's wife listened to the commotion outside from inside the house, a smile playing on her lips. She quietly tidied up the vegetable basket, turned around, and went into the inner room, not wanting to disturb the family's reunion.

Su Mo carried Niannian and led Xia Wanqing into the main room. The room was clean and tidy, with the old wooden table he had left behind on one side and the enamel bowl from his master's house on the other, creating a warm atmosphere of two families living together. Niannian's small porcelain bowl was on the table, and several pots of flowers carefully tended by Wanqing were on the windowsill, showing that she had managed her life very well over the past five years.

He placed Niannian on the chair, turned around, and took out a thick envelope from his pocket, along with the deed for the east wing of the house. He handed it to Xia Wanqing: "Wanqing, this is my salary and subsidies for the past five years, and also the deed for the east wing of house number 95. It was arranged by the organization. It's a detached house, more spacious than here. We'll move there in the future, and life will be more comfortable."

Xia Wanqing took the envelope and the property deed. Her fingers touched the thick envelope, which contained crisp new banknotes. The bright red seal on the property deed was particularly eye-catching. Her eyes widened instantly, her face filled with disbelief: "This...this is too much! And there's even the east wing?"

"I've retired from the military; this is the treatment the organization is giving me," Su Mo explained with a smile. The retirement award for a founding major general is naturally quite generous. "I won't have to fight anymore; I can just stay with you and the two of you and live a good life."

Xia Wanqing held the property deed and the envelope, her hands trembling slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes again—this time, tears of happiness. The hardships of supporting the family alone for the past five years vanished in that moment.

Niannian clung to the table, looking at Su Mo, her little hand clutching the peach wood pendant Su Mo had just pulled from his pocket—it was a piece he had carved himself during a break on the Korean battlefield, with a crooked "Peace" character on it. He had originally carved it to give to Wanqing, but now it was tied around his daughter's neck. "Daddy, is this for Niannian?"

"Yes, it's for Niannian. Wear it, and no one will dare to bully Niannian in the future." Su Mo squatted down, tied the peach wood pendant around her neck, and patted her head.

Niannian touched the peach wood plaque, her eyes crinkling into slits with laughter, and chattered excitedly, "Daddy, did you have a gun when you fought in the war? How many bad guys did you kill?"

Su Mo answered patiently one by one, his voice as gentle as could be. Xia Wanqing sat to the side, watching the father and daughter, a gentle smile on her lips. The room was filled with the warmth of family reunion.