The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er looked at Sun Jiaming.

Sun Jiaming turned a deaf ear to Cao Qiu’s shouting. His expression was so earnest that it made Gu’er’s heart tremble with fear.

’Should I refuse?’

Gu’er couldn’t bring herself to say it. She couldn’t bear to, not just for Sun Jiaming’s sake, but for her own. Deep down, she truly didn’t want to refuse him.

’But what if I say yes?’

Gu’er really wanted to nod. More than anything. She believed Sun Jiaming would treat her well, and that she would be happy.

The light in Gu’er’s eyes slowly dimmed. The knot in her heart remained untied; she couldn’t nod.

Sun Jiaming waited for Gu’er’s answer. It wasn’t that he wasn’t nervous—he was also excited, with a faint trace of fear. He didn’t know what her answer would be.

He watched her expression closely. Gu’er had to have some feelings for him, otherwise she would have rejected him outright. This, combined with his recent observations, made him believe she cared for him.

’But why isn’t she agreeing?’

’What is she worried about?’

"Gu’er, I know my mom can be difficult. But you can’t choose your parents. She gave birth to me and raised me. While I won’t be blindly obedient, I will still be a filial son to her. But I don’t expect my wife to be the same as me. My mom didn’t give birth to my wife or raise her, so it would be unfair to ask her to act as I do. If you think my mom is hard to get along with, we can live separately. I’ll go see her every month and support her. You can come with me if you want, but if you don’t, you don’t have to go. I won’t let you suffer any grievances."

Sun Jiaming assumed Gu’er was hesitant because she found his mother difficult and didn’t like her, so he laid his true thoughts bare.

"That’s not what I mean."

Gu’er didn’t know what to say.

"I know you’re not an unfilial person. Even with Grandma in her condition, you’ve never shown any disdain. You’ve always taken meticulous care of her, even better than I have. You’re the kind of person who repays a little kindness with ten times more. It’s because you’re so good that I don’t want you to feel wronged. If you marry me, I just want you to live well and be happy. If you want to go to the city and do business, I’ll take care of things at home so you can go without any worries. If you want to build a life in the city, we can move there. We’ve already bought the gatehouse; you can use it for your business. I can buy another house for us to live in. I have business in the city too. I make enough each month to support us, no problem. Gu’er, Grandma won’t be a burden either, and I won’t force you to interact with my mom. Are you willing?"

Sun Jiaming had thought of every possible factor. If Gu’er didn’t want to live with his mother, they wouldn’t. If Gu’er wanted to build a career in the city, he would support her. If she wanted to settle in the city, he could persuade his grandmother to move there too. He could afford a house and support a wife and children. He wanted Gu’er to know she wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

Gu’er’s eyes grew moist. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved, that her heart wasn’t stirred by Sun Jiaming’s words. He had thought of everything she could possibly worry about.

She didn’t like Cao Qiu, and he wasn’t asking her to live with Cao Qiu.

She wanted to earn her own money, and he would support her ambitions.

If she wanted to move to the city in the future, he would move with her. He was like her rock, always there to support her. He was like a great tree, sheltering her from the wind and rain. He was a harbor, offering her warmth and a place to rest. Would she ever meet another man like him? He wanted nothing from her but her herself.

’Was heaven compensating her by letting her be reborn and meet Sun Jiaming?’

"Brother Jia Ming... what if... what if I can’t have children?"

After some thought, Gu’er finally mustered the courage to ask. She didn’t know if her feelings on the matter would change in the future. Maybe they would, but for now, the knot in her heart was still tied. So she had to ask Sun Jiaming. If he could accept her not having children, then she... then she would say yes. She would be twice as good to him to make up for it.

Sun Jiaming was stunned. He had considered everything but this. ’What does Gu’er mean? Can’t have children? Why would she ask that?’

’Is she afraid she can’t, or does she have some kind of illness?’

’Is this what she’s worried about?’

’What if Gu’er can’t have children?’ 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Sun Jiaming didn’t answer rashly. He was thinking.

He wanted to marry Gu’er, to spend his entire life with her. He wanted a big family with lots of children, and then grandchildren, to live a peaceful and happy life.

’But what if there are no children?’

In his family, there were two brothers. His older brother only had a daughter. His sister-in-law was from the city and looked down on his mother, yet his mother could always stand up to her and hold her own. Why? Because his sister-in-law hadn’t given birth to a son.

If his sister-in-law didn’t have a son, then the pressure would inevitably fall on him to have one. Carrying on the family line was essential.

If Gu’er couldn’t have children, he could already imagine his mother turning the house upside down, forcing him to divorce Gu’er.

Even though his grandmother liked Gu’er, she also wanted a great-grandson.

’But to give up Gu’er for a child?’

The very thought made Sun Jiaming’s heart ache.

"Gu’er, what’s really going on? Why are you saying this?"

Sun Jiaming decided to get a clear answer.

"I... I can’t explain. I just want to know what you would do, Brother Jia Ming, if I couldn’t have children. If I could never have children in my whole life."

Gu’er couldn’t bring herself to explain her reasons. By telling Sun Jiaming this, if he backed down, she wouldn’t have to say anything to refuse him. She figured Brother Jia Ming wouldn’t want to marry her then anyway.

Gu’er lowered her head, her eyes turning red. At that moment, she wished she didn’t have the memories of her past life. She wanted to say yes to Sun Jiaming, but the moment she thought of children, her heart trembled. She truly couldn’t control her fear right now.

Sun Jiaming could tell Gu’er wasn’t joking; she was being serious. ’Could she have some kind of illness?’

It wasn’t unheard of for people in the village to go their whole lives without children.

"If we don’t have them, we don’t have them. If you can’t have children, then it just means I, Sun Jiaming, am fated to be childless. But it might be hard to explain to my family. How about this: after a few years, you can fake a pregnancy, and when the time comes, we’ll adopt a baby and say you gave birth to it. Since we won’t be living with them and might not see my mom and the others for a year, they probably won’t suspect a thing."

Sun Jiaming had made up his mind. A moment ago, the thought of not being with Gu’er had made his heart ache. The idea of her being with someone else was unbearable. If Gu’er really did have some medical condition, he could take her to a doctor after they were married. If it was incurable, so be it. They would just adopt a child and raise it as their own.

Gu’er never expected Sun Jiaming to say that. She was moved beyond words. She knew what carrying on the family line meant in the village, in the countryside. Not just now, but even much later, many rural families were still adamant about having a son. For Sun Jiaming to be willing to do this... his feelings for her were truly beyond question.

’Maybe I can slowly change over the next few years. Should I say yes to Sun Jiaming, then?’

Just as Gu’er was about to speak, a loud banging suddenly erupted at the main gate.

"Jia Ming! Jia Ming!"

Cao Qiu’s voice came from outside. She had probably been calling for Sun Jiaming from the courtyard and, getting no response, had started banging on the gate.

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Thank you to Zhang Wenyan for the peace charm. I just realized we passed ninety monthly tickets! Even though the ranking is pretty bad this month, I know a lot of them come from red envelope promotions. But for you all to still be willing to vote for me, I’m truly moved. Thank you, everyone. There will be three updates tomorrow, with a bonus Chapter for reaching ninety monthly tickets.