He wanted to watch Shen Daqiang and Wang Fengqin die with his own eyes. And he wouldn’t just go by himself—he would carry his sister Ye Yunshuang’s ashes with him.
Ye Zhiqiu had no objection to that. If it were her, she’d do the same thing.
It seemed she’d inherited her temperament from her mother’s side of the family—and thankfully so.
Wen Shengnan didn’t dare get too close. From a distance, she watched Ye Zhiqiu wipe her tears and felt a secret thrill of satisfaction.
So Ye Zhiqiu and Yue Mingyuan had been fighting—how wonderful!
The only annoying part was that she’d been blocked too well today and hadn’t been able to see the phone number. She was missing just the last two digits. How infuriating.
After Ye Zhiqiu hung up with Yue Mingli, she called Yue Mingyuan.
The last time she’d called him, he hadn’t answered, and he hadn’t called her back afterward either—most likely because he’d been sent on another mission.
He still hadn’t reached out to her since then, and she was getting a little worried. She wanted to try again.
After three rings, the call connected. Ye Zhiqiu ventured cautiously, “Is that Mingyuan?”
“Zhiqiu!” Yue Mingyuan sounded genuinely delighted. “I was just about to call you.”
“Then we were thinking the same thing.”
Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “I called you before, but you didn’t pick up.”
“Mm.”
This had become an unspoken understanding between them. Ye Zhiqiu would mention that she’d tried calling him, and if Yue Mingyuan offered no explanation—just a soft acknowledgment—it meant he’d been out on a mission. Confidentiality rules meant he couldn’t tell her anything.
“Have you called Yaya yet?” Ye Zhiqiu asked.
“Not yet. I wanted to call you first, and then I’ll call home.”
Yue Mingyuan turned the concern back to her. “How have you been lately?”
“I’m doing well. I just spoke with Second Brother.”
“I talked to him too. You can finally stop worrying now.”
Ye Zhiqiu furrowed her brow. “Not quite yet. Shen Liya was released—Xu Wan got her out.”
“I already know about that. I’ll handle it, so don’t worry.” Yue Mingyuan understood that she was afraid Shen Liya might try to harm Yaya.
“With you taking care of it, I feel better. Mingyuan… were you injured?”
Yue Mingyuan could hear the worry in her voice, and his heart swelled with sweetness. He glanced down at his arm, still in a splint, torn between telling a white lie and being completely honest.
“You were hurt, weren’t you?”
That hesitation was all Ye Zhiqiu needed to sense something was off. “Don’t even think about brushing me off. You’re not allowed to lie to me—not even a white lie.”
Since she’d put it that way, Yue Mingyuan had no choice but to admit it. “It’s a minor injury. Nothing serious.”
“As long as it’s not a broken arm or leg, it’s always ‘nothing serious’ in your book.” Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes reddened.
She knew that being a renowned combat hero at his age meant he faced real battlefields.
True peace had never really existed—it was just that those battlefields remained hidden from ordinary people.
“Why aren’t you resting in the hospital?”
She couldn’t help but scold him. “Why can’t you take better care of yourself? You’re just making me worry for nothing!”
“Don’t cry. Please, Zhiqiu, don’t cry! You know I can’t stand it when you cry.”
On the other end of the line, Yue Mingyuan was completely flustered, pacing like an ant on a hot pan. “See? This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“If I found out later, it wouldn’t be like this at all. Do you want to see what that version looks like?” Ye Zhiqiu pretended to be angry.
Yue Mingyuan immediately replied, “No, no, I don’t.”
Catching the laughter in his voice, she got genuinely annoyed. “You’re still laughing!”
“Zhiqiu, you’re so adorable like this.” Yue Mingyuan spoke from the heart. “I’ve imagined this so many times before—what it would be like if I got hurt and you reacted just like this.”
It took her a moment to realize what he really meant. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she couldn’t help but laugh and scold him at the same time. “Yue Mingyuan, did you hit your head or something?”
“Maybe I did.”
“Oh, great. You really did lose your mind.”
Ye Zhiqiu glanced at her watch. “Alright, I won’t keep joking with you. Take good care of yourself, okay? I know you’re sensible, but you’d better stay safe—or else Yaya and I will never forgive you.”
“Yes, ma’am, my wife!”
That single word made her heart race and her face burn. She hurriedly said goodbye and hung up before he could respond.
“That guy… honestly.”
Fanning her face with her hand, Ye Zhiqiu took several deep breaths before her wildly pounding heart finally settled down.
By the time she got to the cafeteria, Han Siyang spotted her and waved her over.
As soon as Ye Zhiqiu sat down, Fan Xue eagerly asked, “Zhiqiu, what were you in such a rush to do?”
“I called home. There was something I needed to take care of.”
“Do you need any help?” Han Siyang and Fan Xue said in unison.
Ye Zhiqiu was deeply touched. “Thanks, but no. It’s nothing major.”
She considered Han Siyang and Fan Xue friends, but the whole Shen Daqiang affair was already behind her. She didn’t like dwelling on those messy old stories, so she brushed it off lightly.
“Zhiqiu, do you have a photo of your daughter? Did you bring it? Can we see?” Fan Xue had been wanting to ask for a while, but the daily training had left her with no energy for anything beyond eating and sleeping.
Han Siyang’s eyes went wide. “Zhiqiu, you already have a child?”
They’d exchanged ages before—Han Siyang was a year older than Ye Zhiqiu. She’d known Ye Zhiqiu was married, but she hadn’t expected her to have a kid too.
“Yes. My daughter is exactly 202 days old today.”
“You can really tell you love her—you remember it so precisely.”
Han Siyang was curious too. “Yeah, Zhiqiu, do you have a picture? Let us see.”
“You’re so beautiful—your daughter must be gorgeous too.”
Fan Xue chimed in, “I’m telling you, Zhiqiu’s husband is really handsome too.”
“Oh really? Now I want to see just how handsome.”
“I’ll show you both when we get back to the dorm.”
Ye Zhiqiu was a slow, deliberate eater. Unless it was an emergency where she had to eat quickly, she’d always take small bites and chew slowly.
It was a habit she’d developed as a child. Back then, her portions were tiny, but she had plenty to get done every day. Eating slowly somehow made the food feel like more.
Later, her grandfather told her it was actually a great habit—it helped with digestion and nutrient absorption.
Back in the dorm, Ye Zhiqiu pulled out their family portrait and handed it to Fan Xue and Han Siyang. Both of them were absolutely charmed by Yaya.
Han Siyang: “Wow, Zhiqiu, your daughter is so adorable—she looks just like a little doll!”
Fan Xue gently tapped the spot where Yaya was in the photo. “Look at that sweet smile. Oh, I really want to give her a hug!”
After getting her fill of Yaya, Han Siyang finally turned her attention to Yue Mingyuan. “Zhiqiu, your husband really is handsome. You two look perfect together.”
Their song and dance troupe had some exceptionally good-looking male dancers, but even they couldn’t compare to Yue Mingyuan.
“Zhiqiu, is your husband a dancer too?”
Ye Zhiqiu shook her head. “No, he’s in the military.”
