Chapter 37: Disciplinary Warning

He Xiulan let out a cold laugh. “Deputy Battalion Commander Lin, you’re a man with a wife and daughter. Yet you neglect your own family and come here to feast and drink with others. You really need to watch your conduct…”

Lin Zhiguo broke out in a cold sweat, wishing he could vanish into thin air.

He hurriedly explained, “Old Lady, please don’t listen to the child’s nonsense… It’s not… I…”

He shot Shen Wei a panicked glare, instinctively stepping several paces away as if trying to immediately draw a clear line between them.

His mind was filled with shock and suspicion. How did Tongtong know the Commander’s mother?

Did Wanqin make the connection?

Why didn’t that idiot Shen Wei tell him!

Shen Wei was also mortified, cursing Tongtong a thousand times in her heart.

That little bitch is just as detestable as her mother!

No one noticed that Liu Nianxin had quietly slipped away to the restroom. Lin Ruihu’s eyes darted around, and he sauntered over as well.

At the restroom entrance, he saw Liu Nianxin slowly washing his hands with his head lowered.

A malicious glint flashed in Lin Ruihu’s eyes. He rushed over, made a grotesque face, and loudly mocked, “Bleh bleh bleh! Dummy! Idiot! Stupid mute!”

He had noticed earlier that something was off with this fool!

Liu Nianxin trembled violently at the sudden scare. He looked up, his eyes instantly filled with terror and panic, his breathing becoming rapid!

He let out a sharp scream.

“Ah! Ah!”

Xinxin retreated two steps, then suddenly slammed his head against the cold tiled wall with a dull “thud.”

He then shoved his fingers into his mouth and bit down hard, crouching in the corner, hugging his head. His eyes turned red as he emitted strange, trapped-animal-like whimpers.

“Ah! Madman! Lunatic!”

Lin Ruihu had never seen such a scene before and screamed in fright.

The commotion immediately caused a stir.

Old Lady and Tongtong rushed over the moment they heard Xinxin’s voice.

Seeing her grandson with a reddened forehead, bite marks bleeding on his fingers, and trembling violently while curled up in the corner, Old Lady’s heart ached with pain, and she flew into a rage!

She scooped Xinxin up, her sharp gaze like daggers shooting toward Lin Zhiguo and Shen Wei, who had hurried over upon hearing the noise. “Deputy Battalion Commander Lin! Is this the fine son you’ve raised? Bullying a sick child? Your family truly has excellent upbringing!”

Lin Zhiguo’s face turned pale, his legs trembling. “Old Lady, I… the child is young, he doesn’t understand…”

“Then teach him until he does understand!”

With those words, Old Lady, heartbroken, comforted her grandson. Without even glancing at Lin Zhiguo’s ashen face, she quickly carried Liu Nianxin away.

“You bully my Brother Xinxin! You nasty villain!”

Tongtong ran over and gave Lin Ruihu a hard kick before hurrying after them on her short little legs. Before leaving, she glanced back at Scumbag Dad.

Her gaze was icy cold, sending an inexplicable shiver down Lin Zhiguo’s spine.

After Old Lady left with the children, Lin Zhiguo’s expression darkened. He glared at Lin Ruihu, who was hiding behind Shen Wei, and roared in fury:

“You little brat! How dare you bully someone for no reason! That’s the Commander’s child! You’re really going to be the death of me!”

Lin Ruihu burst into terrified wails.

Shen Wei immediately felt heartbroken and shielded him. “What are you yelling at the child for? He’s fine!”

Lin Zhiguo planted his hands on his hips, panting heavily with rage. “You just keep protecting him! A doting mother ruins the son!”

Shen Wei didn’t like hearing this. She rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and said sarcastically, “If it weren’t for your precious daughter spouting nonsense in front of the Old Lady, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad… Your wife didn’t even tell you when she got to know the Commander’s mother, which shows they don’t have your best interests at heart. Why take it out on me and our child!”

With that, she stormed out with the child, only to see Lin Jiaojiao grabbing the leftover shredded meat that Tongtong and the others had been eating, her mouth smeared with grease.

A small crowd had gathered to watch.

Shen Wei’s face darkened with embarrassment.

To make matters worse, Lin Ruihu suddenly shook off her hand and rushed over, grabbing food with his hands and wolfing it down.

Whispers erupted around them.

Shen Wei wished she could vanish into the ground.

Lin Zhiguo, already in a foul mood, followed them out and felt his world collapse. His vision darkened repeatedly.

He roared at Shen Wei in a fit of rage, “Hurry up and pull them away! You’re making a spectacle of yourselves!”

Shen Wei, flustered, could only drag her son and daughter away, hanging her head as she followed Lin Zhiguo home.

Lin Zhiguo didn’t go back with them. Fuming, he headed straight to the duty room.

Though Shen Wei’s words had been harsh, he couldn’t help but feel there was some truth to them.

When had Yu Wanqin gotten to know the Commander’s mother? She hadn’t even told him.

This clearly meant they were treating him like an outsider!

Recalling the scene from that night, his anger deflated somewhat.

He could only wait until after work tomorrow to go back and ask for an explanation.

In the middle of the night, Lin Ruihu suddenly started vomiting and having diarrhea.

Shen Wei was terrified.

She rushed to the duty room to fetch Lin Zhiguo, and the two of them took Lin Ruihu to the emergency room.

The doctor prescribed medication and administered an IV drip.

But there was no improvement.

Lin Ruihu was so drained from the diarrhea that his chubby face turned deathly pale.

After a night of this, his belly had visibly shrunk, and he writhed on the bed, wailing in pain.

Shen Wei was frantic with worry.

She grabbed Lin Zhiguo and cried, “What do we do now? Could he have been poisoned? I told you the food at the State-run Restaurant wasn’t clean! Wuwuwu… I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!”

Enraged, Lin Zhiguo shoved her away and snapped impatiently, “Haven’t you embarrassed us enough? You didn’t even order a single dish! It’s our son’s greed that caused this. How can you have the nerve to confront them?”

Shen Wei stumbled and hit a nearby chair, gasping in pain.

She stared at Lin Zhiguo in shock.

Her eyes reddened with anger.

“You’re still yelling at me! You even laid hands on me! Lin Zhiguo, now that your wife is here, you don’t care about us anymore, do you? You don’t care if our son lives or dies, is that it?”

Lin Zhiguo’s eyes flickered.

Lately, he had indeed been restless and irritable. Ever since that last indulgence, he had lost interest in Shen Wei.

Instead, his mind kept drifting back to Yu Wanqin’s slender, graceful figure.

This had made him increasingly impatient with Shen Wei.

But Lin Zhiguo refused to admit any fault on his part. He blamed it all on Shen Wei’s recent behavior—her constant provocation and lack of the understanding she once showed.

Frowning, he lowered his voice in warning, “What nonsense are you spouting? This is a hospital. Do you want everyone to know? You know very well how I’ve treated you!”

Shen Wei finally reined herself in a little, wiping her tears as she seethed with anger.

“I don’t care! My child is my life. If anything happens to my son, I won’t let this go!”

Lin Zhiguo rubbed his temples in frustration, then placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “I’m worried about Ruihu too. Come on, I’ll go with you to find the doctor and see what else we can give him.”

After a night of turmoil, by dawn, Lin Ruihu couldn’t take it anymore and finally fell asleep from exhaustion, which stopped the vomiting.

None of them had any idea that this was the result of Tongtong’s kick from the day before.

Lin Zhiguo had stayed up all night and was also completely worn out. He had just dozed off in a hospital chair when he woke up to find it was already noon.

Panicked, he hurried back, only to find that the mid-level officers’ routine meeting in the unit had already ended.

He was called into Regiment Commander Yang’s office and given a stern scolding.

“What’s going on with you lately? If you can’t handle things at home, fine, but now it’s affecting your work! Lin Zhiguo, I must reprimand you seriously…”

Lin Zhiguo hung his head low, almost burying it in his lap, and admitted his mistake: “Regiment Commander! I was wrong! I promise it won’t happen again!”

Regiment Commander Yang sighed, walked to the door to take a look outside, then closed it. Turning back, he lowered his voice and asked, “How did you manage to offend Commander Liu? Today, the Commander singled you out during the meeting, criticizing your conduct, and even ordered me to give you a formal warning. Did you know that?”