Chapter Sixteen: How Did a New Father Appear, and Why Has Mom Changed?

Long Haochen leapt into Long Xingyu’s arms, causing Long Xingyu’s body to stiffen noticeably.

As a child, Long Haochen was highly sensitive to others’ emotions; he tilted his head, his small face full of confusion.

Did his father not seem to like him?

Whenever he threw himself into his grandfather’s embrace, no matter how busy his grandfather was, he would immediately hold him close, showering him with kisses and lifting him high.

His grandfather would also find him plenty of delicious food, unlike this father who treated him so coldly.

Or perhaps, his father was just meeting him for the first time and hadn’t yet adjusted?

“Dad, Haochen is very easy to feed. I don’t need much—just a small bowl of rice,” Long Haochen said, shaping his palm into a circle about the size of a bowl.

He guessed that his father might be worried about feeding him too much and not being able to support him, which was why he was so distant.

Big brother Jiang Hu often said that his own father scolded him for eating too much, saying the family could hardly afford it.

Yes, yes, the exact phrase was “a half-grown boy eats his father into poverty.”

Bai Yue looked at her son, half amused and half exasperated. She stepped in front of Haochen and smiled, “Alright, I know you don’t eat much. Mommy has already prepared the meal. You two can catch up after you finish eating.”

Bai Yue tried hard to play the role of a virtuous wife and caring mother, gentle and understanding toward her husband, kind and loving toward her son.

She placed the dishes on the table. Long Xingyu naturally took the seat of honor, not even bothering to move or help serve the food.

When Bai Yue turned her back to Long Xingyu, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

She vented to System Liu Liu, “What was wrong with me in my past life to fall for a useless man like Long Xingyu?”

“Lazy limbs, ignorant of the simplest things, full of toxic masculinity, obsessed with cuckolding himself, and morally blackmailing others under the guise of the alliance’s righteousness.”

“How can he sit there so comfortably, not even helping with the dishes, just waiting to be served!”

[Host, calm down. You still have Haochen to help you!]

[Long Xingyu may be lacking in character, but his genes are good; otherwise, little Haochen wouldn’t have inherited the Bright Child’s constitution!]

Considering Haochen’s cultivation talent, half inherited from Long Xingyu, Bai Yue found it easier to tolerate his arrogance.

“Haochen, you’re still young. Serving dishes isn’t your job yet,” Bai Yue said as she took the small bowl from Haochen’s hands, her tone indifferent.

Long Haochen blinked. Didn’t Mom usually encourage him to be independent? She always said children should take care of their own affairs. When he used magic to do chores, she praised him for being capable!

Why was Mom so different with this new dad?

After nearly five years, Long Xingyu, Bai Yue, and Long Haochen finally shared a family reunion meal.

But apart from Haochen eating happily, Bai Yue and Long Xingyu both found the food tasteless.

“Dad, eat more. Our family is poor, and Mom doesn’t usually cook such delicious food. Today is my first day at school, so Mom made a lot of tasty dishes. You’re in for a treat,” Long Haochen said seriously, offering Long Xingyu a piece of braised pork.

Long Xingyu recalled everything he had seen upon entering the house; indeed, it could be described as bare and impoverished.

“Yue’er, since you’ve returned to the human race, why didn’t you come looking for me?” Long Xingyu asked, voicing his doubts.

“If you had come to find me, I would have let Haochen and you live well, without having to scrimp and suffer.”

Not seeking you out meant she didn’t want to see you any sooner. Looking at your big face, she lost her appetite.

Of course, Bai Yue thought this silently but would never say it aloud.

How did she answer last time? She decided to quote her past words verbatim.

“Xingyu, I don’t know how to face you. I just want to live well with Haochen. Odin Town is a good choice, and I believe that one day you will come looking for me. Then, I can proudly tell Haochen that his father is a hero.”

After saying this, Bai Yue felt embarrassed by her own sentimental words.

But Long Xingyu took her words to heart. He thought: Indeed, Bai Yue still has feelings for me. Fine, I’ll acknowledge Haochen as my son. After all, he carries the blood of that demon. If I use him well and bring about a tale of family strife, that demon will taste the pain of life and death separation from kin—a fitting revenge for losing my wife.

“Yue’er, rest assured, I will train Haochen well. He will become a stalwart knight, punishing the wicked and glorifying the Holy Sanctuary,” Long Xingyu promised confidently, patting his chest.

Long Haochen stared at the bowl of rice, his eyes full of confusion, completely unaware that Long Xingyu had already tailored a training plan for him.

…

The next day, Bai Yue personally escorted Long Haochen and Long Xingyu to the Odin Branch of the Knight Sanctuary.

The Odin Branch was a two-story building with a playground in front, where a tall stone pillar stood—a tool used by knight attendants to test spiritual power.

It was Bai Yue’s first time visiting this place. In her past life, she had been busy earning money and raising the family, never having time to take Haochen to school.

But now, thinking back, if only she had accepted some money from her father instead of being so proud, she wouldn’t have suffered so much. Her hands were rough and cracked from washing clothes in water.

This time, she was smarter. She continued washing clothes for a living but used magic to clean them, making the task easier and more effective.

“Yue’er, I’ll take Haochen inside for class first. If you’re interested, you can audit the lessons,” Long Xingyu said with a confident smile, inviting Bai Yue to watch him teach.

Their first meeting had also been in a classroom: Bai Yue, wearing a white dress, pure and playful, fulfilling all his fantasies of a future wife. That was why he fell in love at first sight.

However, back then, Bai Yue had been teaching children at the orphanage. This time, Long Xingyu was teaching children aspiring to be knights. He hoped Bai Yue’s presence would rekindle their beautiful memories.

Bai Yue nodded. One of her goals in coming here was to learn knight cultivation techniques, which she still did not know. Bai Qian’s cultivation progress was currently zero.

Long Haochen bounced happily inside. His new friend Jiang Hu approached, full of gossip, and asked, “Long Haochen, did the teacher come to visit your home yesterday? Did you get punished?”

“Teacher Xingyu looks really scary, nothing like the kind and gentle Instructor Balza.”

Long Haochen shook his head. “Teacher Xingyu didn’t hit me. He knows my mom from before, that’s why he came to visit.”

This was what Long Xingyu had told him the night before. He didn’t want the students at the Odin Branch to know about their father-son relationship, fearing they would think Haochen had gotten in through connections and dismiss all his efforts as simply having a good father.