Chapter 247

Qiao Suisui smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

So there was already a family division of labor... but Zongfang was indeed more like a strict father compared to Luka. Luka was the type who didn't talk much but had deep fatherly love, while Zongfang was more like a benchmark, the kind of father the children needed to constantly strive to surpass.

Knowing that the snake cubs had all appeared on this timeline according to the previous direction, she finally felt truly at ease.

As for some unexpected things... "Stop bothering me, go find your wife, all you do is stare at me every day!"

A little female wearing boots with a whip at her waist ran out from the side door, covering her ears. She looked even younger than Qiaoxia's group.

"Not listening, not listening! The turtle is chanting scriptures!"

Ka'er was truly driven crazy, but he couldn't bear to hit her, so he followed behind, nagging incessantly.

"You think I enjoy staring at you? If you could let me worry less, would I have to stare at you every day? Why don't I stare at Beilini and the others, why don't I stare at Hawisi and the others, huh?" Ka'er's eyes were spitting fire, his anger rising. "You stand right there!"

Summer looked unconvinced, her red hair tied into a high ponytail, and she put her hands on her hips: "I just want to go to the school where Mom graduated like Hawisi and the others, why won't you let me go? Why can Hawisi and the others go?"

Ka'er sighed to the sky, explaining to her for the hundredth time: "I've said it a hundred times, a hundred times, they don't accept females."

"Then Mom..."

Ka'er cut her off directly, saying firmly: "Your mom was willful back then, insisting on disguising herself as a male to go to school. I've already disciplined her; you, even more impossible!"

"Disciplined who?"

Qiao Suisui stood behind Ka'er and asked with a smile.

Ka'er was stunned, turned to see her, and before he could say anything, Summer rushed into Qiao Suisui's arms like a little lamb, pouting: "Mom, your husband is really annoying, you know that?"

Qiao Suisui laughed, patted her head, and said softly: "You are not allowed to say that about Dad. He is the one who wanted you to come into this world the most."

Ka'er saw Qiao Suisui, and all his anger vanished. He walked over, pulled Summer away, then reached out to pull her into his arms, swaying her back and forth, his tone full of grievance: "Darling, I miss the days of just the two of us."

He had once hoped with all his heart for a quiet, well-behaved daughter, exquisite and beautiful like Qiao Suisui. Just thinking about raising a miniature version of Sui Sui made Ka'er's heart melt. But Summer was the complete opposite extreme; she had completely inherited Ka'er's rebelliousness and had shown she was different from a young age.

Vanessa and Liliya gave her pretty dresses and dolls to play with, but she didn't care at all, turning around to grab Tata's toy train. Her favorite toy was a gun; when she was little, she even secretly climbed into Ka'er's room to play with his M40, scaring Ka'er so much he almost lost his soul. After that, he put all his guns in the highest places, afraid she would hurt others or herself.

At first, Ka'er felt very proud and made her some wooden guns to play with. Later, as Summer grew older, he discovered this little girl was simply a woman like a male eagle. When Beilini was bullied, she stood up for him and fought with those little boys; Tata had never won against her in running or hunting since they were little; she liked to play in the pile of boys like Hawier the most, and if she didn't come back covered in mud before dark, Ka'er would write his name backward.

He even specifically went to ask Kai for advice, asking him to find some parenting experts, hoping to get back a quiet and well-behaved precious daughter.

But Kai said: "Every child is unique, you have to accept their uniqueness."

Ka'er reflected for several days and felt Kai made sense, so he decided not to be obsessed with changing Summer's personality.

Good fellow, this free-range approach was no small matter, directly raising a tough-as-nails female bandit.

Not only did she help those in need, but now she had upgraded to colluding with her three brothers to deceive him, wanting to join the army without even saying a word.

It wasn't that Ka'er didn't approve of her pursuing her ideals, it was just that he really couldn't bear to watch his daughter eat and sleep among a pile of males every day—just thinking about it was impossible. Summer's beast form was particularly cute, all snow-white. That was the little daughter he had held in the palm of his hand since she was small. Rather than saying Ka'er couldn't accept her unconventional ways, it was more that he couldn't let go and let Summer leave him.

At this moment, Qiao Suisui felt Ka'er's worry. She understood that he always used joking ways to dissipate the emotions in his heart, so she was sure Ka'er wasn't as relaxed as he appeared on the surface, so she hooked her finger with his and said: "How about setting a deadline and letting her try it out? If after this deadline, she still chooses to stay there, we'll let Summer choose for herself, how about that?"

Summer's eyes lit up after hearing this, nodding repeatedly.

A flash of deep thought crossed Ka'er's eyes.

Qiao Suisui hugged the man's waist and looked up at him, realizing that apart from his appearance, he hadn't changed much over the years, but his temperament was much more steady than before; perhaps this was what he had learned in the process of being a father.

"Ka'er, we should be the strongest backing for the children, not the ropes that bind them."

Ka'er hugged her, lowered his head to kiss her, raised an eyebrow and said: "Why are you so philosophical today? You were clearly crying your eyes out yesterday because of Hawisi and the others joining the army."

Summer circled the hugging Mom and Dad, spinning happily, "Great, great, I can touch guns and fight! I want to be the best female officer in the entire Interstellar, as excellent as Uncle Sikesaisi!"

Ka'er "snorted" and muttered: "Your Uncle Sikesaisi's marksmanship isn't as good as your dad's!"

"Ding—"

"Ding—"

"Ding—"

Crisp tapping sounds rang out, and everyone looked toward the high platform. It was Laiboli tapping the champagne glass three times with a silver spoon, representing that he had something to say before the banquet.

Laiboli gave a concise opening, then reached out toward Qiao Suisui's direction.

"... Next, please let my Empress say a few words to everyone."

Thunderous applause erupted for a moment.

Facing an occasion with so many people, although Qiao Suisui wasn't stage-frightened, she was somewhat at a loss. Because her memories hadn't merged in yet, she really didn't know what to say about these blank ten-plus years.

At this time, Zongfang seemed to know what she was thinking, his palm pressed against her back, leaning down to whisper: "Don't be afraid, no matter what you say, you don't have to worry about them having objections, because today's Aosilan Empire is already the number one power in the Federation."

She understood Zongfang's meaning.

Because of their status, no matter what she said, there would definitely be people below who would praise her to the skies.

But compared to this, Qiao Suisui was even more surprised that Aosilan had actually become the number one power today.

What exactly had happened all these years? She lifted her skirt elegantly and walked onto the stage, standing side by side with Laiboli. Below the stage, Luka, Zongfang, and Ka'er were all watching her intently, their eyes carrying smiles and love that couldn't be melted away.

Laiboli thoughtfully gave her a glass of wine. Qiao Suisui looked at the scene before her; the difficulty and persistence of so many retrospections were all worth it at this moment to see everyone reunited here without one missing.

She raised her wine glass high with emotion and said gently and firmly: "To the selves of us who never gave up in those times."

(End of chapter)