Reborn in the Eighties as a Housewife with a Space

Chapter 2042: Chapter 2036: Face Darkened

After some awkward washing up with the kids, the couple finally managed to get them ready for bed.

"Helping them wash up is more tiring than going to work," Qin Xue remarked, having not bathed the kids for a while. Her young son, thrilled by the water, was impossible to hold back once he saw it, like a wolf eyeing its prey.

"You worked hard," Chu Molin said, noticing her massaging her own shoulders. He walked over to her and took over the massage.

"It’s alright. It’s just unexpected that all kids are the same, they love playing with water. When they were little, I didn’t think much of it, but why does it seem to get worse as they grow older? I really don’t understand," Qin Xue admitted, although deep down, she did understand; she just didn’t want to acknowledge that she had been neglecting the children too much.

"Don’t overthink it. The kids won’t blame you," Chu Molin reassured her, knowing exactly what Qin Xue was thinking.

"Sigh, Chu Molin, do you think I’ve failed as a mother? Nobody tops my level of negligence," Qin Xue turned to look at her husband, who was easing her shoulder pain with a massage.

"You just want to give them a better life, that’s all. Our kids are understanding; they know what you’re doing," Chu Molin said, though he felt equally negligent himself.

"Yes, our children are the most precious treasures in the world," Qin Xue mused, considering how many families still had several children due to the yet-to-be-fully-implemented family planning policies, particularly in male-preferential households.

For those children to receive equal treatment seemed impossible. However, Qin Xue, a woman raised in the new era, would never treat her children differently based on gender. To her, they were all the best, regardless of being boys or girls.

"Right, our kids are our treasures," Chu Molin echoed Qin Xue’s sentiment, as he shared the same belief.

Having witnessed preferential treatment as a child, Chu Molin knew firsthand how unfair it was and how damaging it could be to a child’s growth. He was determined never to treat his children that way.

"Chu Molin, you love kids so much. If I got pregnant again, would you be happy?" Qin Xue contemplated, remembering how he and Ye Xuan would compete to dote on their daughter, and wondered whether having another child would fit with the choices available at the end of family planning policies.

"No, I wouldn’t be happy. I don’t want you to endure so much hardship. Before, I didn’t know any better, and since it was our first child, I went along with you. But now I have a choice, and I don’t want you to live such a hard and tiring life. I just want you to be well. As for kids, we already have three, and that’s plenty," Chu Molin, though fond of daughters, wasn’t so obsessed with having one as to disregard his wife’s well-being.

Thus, instead of delighting Chu Molin, his wife’s suggestion made his expression darken.

He had been more heartbroken than anyone watching his wife struggle through poor sleep and nutrition during pregnancy, and he wouldn’t let her go through that again.

Yet Qin Xue was unaware of Chu Molin’s thoughts, leading to quite the surprise for both of them later on.

"I was just saying it. You don’t have to be upset. If you don’t want me to have another kid, then I won’t. Anyway, like you said, we already have three sons. They can have kids when they’re older," Qin Xue laughed as she looked at her grim-faced husband. Was this reaction really necessary? She only suggested it because he loved daughters so much. If he wanted one, maybe she could give it a shot again. Seeing his reluctance, she realized it wasn’t a loss for her and couldn’t help feeling a sweet warmth inside.

Qin Xue thought about how blessed it felt to have a man like him not want another child out of concern for her well-being, truly a happiness for a woman.