Two days later, Sienna came back to the family housing area. When she got to the door, she saw it was open and felt a little curious. Maybe her husband didn't go to work today.
When she went inside and saw Cuilan, she happily called out, "Mom, you're here!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Cuilan looked up and saw Sienna. She quickly walked over and said, "Sienna, you're finally back. Did you get hurt anywhere?"
"No, not at all. Why would I get hurt? Mom, when did you arrive? Where's Dad?"
"It's good you're not hurt. Your dad will come later. Sienna, you must be hungry. Go rest inside. I'll cook for you and call you when it's ready."
Before Sienna could answer, Cuilan ran quickly into the kitchen to prepare food.
Sienna looked at her mom's fast movements and didn't know what to say. She followed her into the kitchen and said, "Mom, I want to take a bath."
"Okay, wait a bit. I'll heat some water for you now. Go rest first. I'll call you when it's ready."
After pushing her out, Cuilan started cooking and boiling water. When Sienna finished her bath, Cuilan handed her a bowl of egg custard.
"Sienna, eat this first. The meal won't be ready right away. After eating, lie down and rest."
"Okay, thank you, Mom."
Cuilan smiled and went back to cooking. Worried that Sienna was hungry, she sped up her movements.
"Sienna, Sienna, it's time to eat."
Sienna heard the call and quickly came out of the room.
"Mom, I'm here."
"Come sit and eat. You must be starving."
Sienna took the bowl and chopsticks. "Thanks, Mom. Let's wait for Rowan."
Cuilan quickly replied, "No need. Just the two of us will eat. He eats at the base."
"Oh, alright."
After the meal, Sienna was about to clean the dishes, but Cuilan stopped her.
"Don't bother. Leave it to me. You rest a bit. I won't disturb you in the afternoon. Just sleep well, go on."
"Mom, I…"
"No more talking. Sienna, be good and go rest. You've been out for so long, you must be tired."
Cuilan pushed her back into the room and began cleaning up. Just as she finished, Rowan came home.
"Mom, I'm back."
Cuilan came out. "Keep your voice down. You're always so loud."
Rowan felt confused. This was just how he normally spoke.
He didn't care much and went to wash his hands, ready to eat. But when he entered the room, he saw no food and looked toward his mom.
Cuilan said, "There's some leftovers in the kitchen. Go get something to eat, or better yet, just eat at the canteen. Sienna's back and sleeping. Don't wake her up."
Rowan understood. His wife and mom had already eaten and forgot about him, so they didn't save him any food.
He didn't say anything and turned to go to his room. But at the door, Cuilan stopped him and pulled him outside.
"Go eat first. If you go in now, she'll definitely wake up. She just fell asleep."
After thinking for a moment, Rowan went to the canteen to eat. From the way his mom acted, it seemed his wife was fine.
Cuilan didn't bother with Rowan anymore and also went to rest.
Over half an hour later, Rowan came into the room. As soon as he entered, he saw his wife had opened her eyes. He quickly sat on the bed.
"Wife, did I wake you up? I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. I always wake up when I hear sounds. It's normal."
Rowan hugged her and gently patted her back, coaxing her to sleep like a child. "Wife, go to sleep. I'm right here with you. There's nothing to worry about."
"Okay."
After hearing Sienna's steady breathing, Rowan finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.
When Sienna opened her eyes again, it was almost dark. She quickly got up and walked out of the room, just as Cuilan saw her. "Sienna, you're awake. You must be hungry. Wash up and let's eat."
She turned and said to Rowan, "Hurry and get some hot water. Can't even take care of your own wife properly?"
"Mom, it's okay. I'll do it myself. You don't have to worry."
After saying that, she ran off to get water. Rowan quickly followed, thinking if he was a second too late, his mom's eyes could kill him.
Cuilan still brought the food to the table. During dinner, she kept putting food into Sienna's bowl.
"Sienna, here, have a chicken leg."
Then she served chicken soup. "Here, have a bowl of soup."
"Mom, it's okay, you eat too." Sienna gave a chicken leg to Cuilan and gave the one in her bowl to Rowan.
"Husband, eat this. It's good for you."
Rowan was about to refuse and give it back to her, but Cuilan said, "Sienna, don't mind him. He's a grown man and perfectly healthy, he doesn't need that."
She also gave her own to Sienna. "I don't need it either. We already ate before you got back. This is made especially for you. Eat up."
After dinner, Cuilan pulled Sienna aside to talk, while Rowan obediently went to clean the dishes.
"Sienna, after you came here, did anyone bully you? Tell me if someone did."
"No, but I'm sorry. I didn't protect my husband well, and he got hurt."
Cuilan hugged her, eyes red. "It's not your fault. We were all worried when he got hurt, but he's a soldier. He has duties and responsibilities. From the day he joined the army, both he and we were ready for the possibility that he might not come back."
She touched Sienna's head gently. "Child, it's you who's suffering now. Being with him means you also have to go on missions."
"It's not hard. Mom, don't worry. I'll protect him and make sure nothing happens to him."
"Silly girl, just protect yourself. Don't say things like that, okay?"
"Why not?"
Cuilan didn't answer. Rowan came in and pulled her back to the room to rest.
"Husband, mom wasn't finished talking."
"Just listen to mom. She won't harm you."
"Okay, fine."
Cuilan watched them go back to the room and understood clearly. People are selfish. Even though they said they were prepared, if one day the two of them went on a mission together and Rowan got hurt, she might lose control if she heard too often that Sienna wanted to protect him. After all, Rowan was her own flesh and blood.
It's better not to listen. That way, if something happened in the future, they would only be thankful that one of them survived. It would all be fate. And if something really happened, they would treat Sienna as their own daughter when they married her into the family.
The next day, Sienna went to report the mission to Commander Zhang. Zhang Lun said, "Comrade Sienna, you should've come to report as soon as you returned yesterday. That's the proper procedure."
"I'm not your soldier. The people I went with must have reported already yesterday. I'm just here to let you know out of courtesy."
After saying that, Sienna left, not caring what Zhang Lun said afterward. She wanted to go back to her mom and have her teach her things. She wouldn't have time to study once training started again in a few days.