Soldier Keep On Marching On

Chapter 4

Qiuyue Meiyi awoke to the sun shining directly into her eyes from a parting in the curtain covering the bedroom window. She groaned, shifting slightly to try and use her arm to block out the light, only to find that she could not move it. She turned her head to the side to see little Wei Ying sprawled out over her right arm while sleeping. She then turned her head to the other side and saw a sleeping A-cheng curled up into the space between her neck and her left shoulder, clinging softly to her hair.  

A small smile grew on her lips. She pressed a kiss to her son's head before twisting her head and doing the same thing to Wei Ying. She then sat up, carefully maneuvering the two boys off of her arms and onto the bed beneath them. She scooted off the bed as silently as she could, and watched with soft eyes as Wei Ying began to cling to A-cheng in her place, and A-cheng in turn softly held onto the front of Wei Ying's robes with his small hands.

Qiuyue Meiyi gazed at them softly for another moment before leaving the bedroom. First, she headed to the bathroom to take a shower. After washing up, she re-entered the bedroom to put on some clean robes, only to find her son sitting silently on the bed with his body facing the bedroom door. Wei Ying had moved again and was now laying on his side while hugging A-cheng's waist, though he was still as asleep as he had been before she'd left the room. Qiuyue Meiyi smiled brightly at her son, though she knew he couldn't see it. 

"Good morning, A-cheng," she spoke softly to him in order to not wake Wei Ying  up. 

She walked over to the bed and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. Her son didn't seem to mind that her skin was still wet from her bath, and wrapped his arms around her in turn, nuzzling enthusiastically into her neck and under her chin. Qiuyue Meiyi tenderly kissed his forehead, before letting him go with one least kiss and walking over to the dresser she had placed the qiankun pouch full of clothes on. She then proceeded to put on a black under robe, grey cotton pants and a deep blue outer robe. 

She was just starting to comb her hair when a groan echoed through the room. She turned to look behind her, to see Wei Ying yawning and rubbing his eyes as he slowly sat up on the bed. 

"Aunty Meiyi?" he called sleepily.

"Good morning Ying-er. Did you sleep well last night?" she responded with a smile.

"Yes I did Aunty. Thank you for letting me stay with you."

"No worries Ying-er."

She picked up her comb and began brushing her hair as she continued to speak to the two children. 

"You two will need to get a bath before we head downstairs to the dining area for breakfast. Wei Ying you can go first. I already prepared new water, some soap and clean clothes for you in there. Do you need any help?"

Wei Ying smiled, "No aunty, I think I can manage."

"Alright, darling. Just shout if you need any help, okay?"

The small boy nodded before sliding off the bed and walking to the bathroom. Qiuyue Meiyi finished combing out the last few knots in her hair and then walked over to her son, gently picking him up and twirling him in her arms, as she began to hum softly.

Her voice waded through the room like a slow moving river as she hummed. Her voice raised and lowered in pitch depending on the note hummed and occasionally changed in volume as certain parts of the song required a crescendo or a decrescendo.  The tune was a fluffy one, full of joy and laughter, as anyone listening could tell by the tones of Qiuyue Meiyi's voice. 

Though she knew he couldn't hear it, Qiuyue Meiyi never skipped out on a chance to sing for her son. It was just something she loved to do. The tune fizzled to an end with the last note being held for a good few seconds. At the same time, the door to the bedroom opened, revealing a fully dressed Wei Ying. His hair was still quite wet so she beckoned him over, shifting her hold on her son completely to one arm and using the free one to thoroughly dry the older child's messy locks. She couldn't have either boy getting sick. That just wouldn't do.