Right now, Jiawen’s studies are the most important thing. We’ll have to wait until she finishes her schooling first. I can’t hold her back.
And even if Xiaowen agreed, her dad definitely wouldn’t. If he ever found out I dared to lead his daughter astray, he’d probably break my legs.
“Dad’s going to get our meal. Do you want to come with me, Yaya?” Yue Mingyuan asked the little girl.
Ling Hang unceremoniously exposed Yue Mingyuan’s true intention. “You just want to show her off, don’t you?”
Everyone in the unit knew that Yue Mingyuan had a daughter. Last time when Ye Zhiqiu brought Yaya over, some people saw her, but they didn’t dare come close.
Because at that time, they’d heard that Yue Mingyuan and Ye Zhiqiu weren’t getting along well. So, seeing them being all lovey-dovey completely shattered those rumors.
After Ye Zhiqiu left, seeing Yue Mingyuan was in a good mood, some of the bolder guys started teasing him, saying that next time Yaya came, they had to get a look at her. Yue Mingyuan agreed immediately.
“You coming with me or not?”
Yue Mingyuan raised his chin towards Ling Hang, who puffed out his chest. “Of course I am. Yaya is my little niece.”
Ling Hang reached his hand out to Yaya. “Yaya, want your uncle-in-law to carry you?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Ye Jiawen punched Ling Hang hard. Ling Hang quickly corrected himself. “Uncle. Just uncle.”
Yaya looked at Ling Hang, then at Yue Mingyuan, and decisively chose to hug her dad.
Yue Mingyuan proudly pushed Ling Hang aside. “Get married soon. Then you can show off your own kid.”
As he spoke, he handed all the lunchboxes he was carrying to Ling Hang. “For now, you just be responsible for holding the food.”
Only then did Ling Hang realize what was happening. “So you’re telling me I’m just coming along to be the errand boy?”
“Well, what else did you expect?”
Even if Ling Hang had the guts to do something to Yue Mingyuan, he didn’t have the nerve.
Because besides his own father, Yue Mingyuan was the only person he was truly afraid of.
Don’t let Yue Mingyuan’s honest and upright appearance fool you. That guy fights dirty. He’s like a cuttlefish – full of dark tricks and bad ideas.
“Yaya, do you want to go with Dad?” Yue Mingyuan asked Yaya again, worried she might not want to.
Yaya nodded slightly. Yue Mingyuan gently stroked her back with his other large hand. “Yaya, you’re going to see a lot of uncles in a little while. Don’t be scared. Even though they might look a bit fierce, they’re not scary at all. They’re all good people. They’re soldiers who protect our country, just like Dad.”
Yaya shook her head, patted her own little chest, and opened her mouth, wanting to say “not scared,” but only managed a “buh-bah” sound.
She paused for a moment, puffed out her little cheeks in frustration, then quickly relaxed and gave a helpless little sigh.
In just one minute, her little face went through several expressions, nearly melting the hearts of the four adults watching.
After straightening Yaya’s clothes, Yue Mingyuan walked out of the office with his head held high, even more proud and triumphant than if he’d won a major battle.
The cafeteria wasn’t far. When Yue Mingyuan and Ling Hang arrived, the soldiers outside were in the middle of a singing contest.
“Westward the sun, rosy clouds fly, soldiers return from target practice, heading for the base…”
Standing out among all that army green, Yaya looked like a bright little red flower, absolutely dazzling.
Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to her, and the singing instantly fell apart.
Being stared at by so many people didn’t scare Yaya at all. Her smile was as sweet as could be.
After all, these are the most lovable people.
“Captain Yue, so this is your daughter? She’s really beautiful. I’ve never seen such a pretty child in my whole life.”
“Oh man, my daughter looks like a little monkey from the mountains compared to Captain Yue’s daughter.”
Yue Mingyuan was usually the center of attention anyway, but today he was like he had his own spotlight and theme music – the absolute focus of everyone’s gaze.
From the moment he walked in the door until he reached the serving window, everyone’s eyes followed him.
“Uncle Zhang, give me two orders of braised pork ribs, two orders of tomatoes and eggs, with extra soup on both. Also, five steamed buns, five meat-stuffed buns, and two sugar triangle buns.”
After Yue Mingyuan said this, the man called Uncle Zhang turned his head impatiently, ready to see which bold kid dared to break the rules.
Then he saw it was Yue Mingyuan, and in the next instant, his eyes landed on Yaya.
Yaya smiled at everyone she met. Even though this grandpa looked incredibly scary – half his face was wrinkled and scrunched up, making his features hard to distinguish – she still gave him a sweet smile and tried hard to pronounce “Gan-pa.”
“Xiao Yue, who is this little girl?”
“Uncle Zhang, she’s my daughter.”
Yue Mingyuan’s biggest worry was how Yaya would react to seeing Uncle Zhang. He was ready, prepared to figure out how to calm her down if she got scared and started crying.
Who knew his daughter would be so brave? You have to understand, with Uncle Zhang’s looks and temper, even many of the tough new recruits had been frightened into tears.
Seeing the scary grandpa lean in to look at her, Yaya waved at Old Zhang, then pulled two pieces of candy from her little pouch and handed them over.
Old Zhang was stunned for a moment, then tentatively held Yaya’s little hand and softened his harsh voice. “Good child, Grandpa doesn’t want any. You eat them.”
His voice was also very unpleasant. Even when he softened it, it still sounded like a monster whispering.
Yaya tilted her head, reached out with her other little hand and took hold of Old Zhang’s hand. She pulled back the hand holding the candy, dug out two different pieces of candy from her little pouch, and placed them in Old Zhang’s hand.
And that wasn’t all. She also took out her favorite milk-flavored beans.
After placing everything in his hand, she gave Old Zhang another sweet smile, which moved him to tears.
“Good child, you wait right here. Grandpa will steam some egg custard for you. What else do you like to eat?”
Yaya shyly pointed at the tomatoes and eggs. Old Zhang directly filled an entire lunchbox full for Yue Mingyuan.
Yue Mingyuan kept saying from the side, “Uncle Zhang, that’s enough, that’s plenty.”
Ling Hang stood nearby, completely dumbfounded.
Everyone in the entire unit knew that Old Zhang was famously stubborn. Forget about them; even if the Battalion Commander, Yue Mingyuan’s father, or his own father came, Old Zhang still gave the exact prescribed number of ladles of each dish. If you wanted an extra ladle, you’d better get ready to be hit by Old Zhang’s iron ladle.
That big iron ladle coming down on your head would leave it ringing for days. It was like having an extra temple inside your skull, with someone constantly ringing a bell and chanting scriptures.
Why was he so sure? Because he’d experienced it himself when he was young and stupid.
Later on, whenever he wanted to prank someone, he’d convince that person to go ask Old Zhang for an extra scoop of food.
As Yue Mingyuan and Ling Hang left, the way everyone looked at Yaya was filled with pure admiration.
“That’s so much.”
Ling Hang placed the lunchboxes on the desk and opened them. Ye Zhiqiu and Ye Jiawen were both very surprised.
Ling Hang quickly and proudly recounted Yaya’s heroic deeds. Ye Jiawen touched Yaya’s little face. “That’s our Yaya. Everyone who meets her loves her.”
Yue Mingyuan tore off a small piece of steamed bun, dipped it in the tomato and egg soup, and gently fed it to Yaya. Yaya let it dissolve in her mouth before swallowing.
She didn’t eat much each day. Since she still didn’t have any teeth, to avoid indigestion, her diet was mostly milk powder and egg custard.
After eating another half a small bowl of egg custard, Yaya pushed away the hand that Yue Mingyuan was using to feed her, patted her little tummy, and indicated that she was full.
