Every time they heard it, Yue Mingde, Yue Youxin, and Yue Youhui felt a pang in their hearts.
“Li Yan, the only one in your heart is Li Yang!” Yue Mingde pointed at Li Yan accusingly.
Li Yan was baffled. “Yue Mingde, what kind of nonsense is that? Yangyang is my nephew—of course I care about him! But what do you mean, ‘only Yangyang’? Don’t I also have—”
“—your brothers and your mother.”
Yue Mingde cut her off, shaking his head in utter disappointment. “But never me, Xiaoxin, or Xiaohui. If you had even a shred of us in your heart, I wouldn’t have divorced you!”
“Yue Mingde, have you lost your mind? Ever since that visit to your mother’s place, the three of you have been acting strange.”
Lately, Li Yan had lain awake at night, turning things over in her head. The more she thought, the more bizarre it all seemed—yet she couldn’t pinpoint what had gone wrong.
“Yue Mingde, I don’t have the energy to argue with you. You know exactly why we got divorced!
I think you’ve found another woman and are just trying to pin the blame on me! You’re despicable!”
With a furious glare, Li Yan turned to leave but then remembered something. She stormed back, rummaged through her bag, and flung the embroidered pouch Wang Fengqin had given her straight at Yue Mingde.
“Yue Mingde, which one of us is truly heartless? You reported my brother and nearly cost him his job! And yet, I still went out of my way to get a protective talisman for your niece!”
Yue Mingde picked up the pouch, studying it skeptically before eyeing Li Yan.
After nearly a decade of marriage, he knew her well—this wasn’t like her at all.
First, Li Yan prided herself on being an educator, always looking down on what she called “superstitious nonsense.”
Sure, she’d never criticize her own mother for it, but if anyone else sought out talismans, she’d mock them openly or behind their back.
Second, Li Yan had never shown this kind of consideration for his family. She was happy to take whatever they gave her, but she’d never go out of her way to give them anything—let alone something for Ya Ya.
“Yue Mingde, what’s with that look?”
Li Yan avoided his gaze, sticking to her prepared excuse: “This talisman was something my mom got before the baby’s full-moon celebration. She said Ya Ya was born premature and needed it to ward off night frights.”
“Give it to her if you want, or throw it away! We’re divorced now—your family has nothing to do with me!”
With that, she stormed off.
Yue Mingde watched her disappear around the corner of the alley before tucking the pouch into his pocket.
When he and the boys arrived, Wan Jiayin, Yue Minghui, Shen Zhiqiu, and Meng Fang were sitting around the stone table in the courtyard, sorting vegetables. Huo Jiusi and Qin Feng were racing around with a small cart.
“Grandma, Auntie, Second Aunt, Third Aunt!”
Yue Youxin and Yue Youhui hopped off their bikes, greeted everyone, and ran off to join the fun.
Yue Mingde handed the groceries to Wan Jiayin, then gave hair clips and ribbons to Yue Minghui and Meng Fang.
“Brother, you’ve got good taste—these are really cute!” Yue Minghui held one up to her hair, then grinned. “Got any more? I could sell them to the girls at the magazine office!”
“Yeah, Big Brother, give me some too. I’ll pass them out to my coworkers,” Meng Fang added with a laugh.
Knowing they were just trying to help, Yue Mingde waved them off. “These were the last ones I saved for you. I can’t even keep up with demand at the night market—business is booming!”
“Then buy me Xinghualou’s mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival, okay?” Yue Minghui teased like she used to as a kid. “I want a pound of osmanthus lotus seed paste!”
Yue Mingde chuckled. “Deal. I’ll get them for you.”
“Xiao Fang, I know you like jujube paste and red bean. What about you, Zhiqiu?” He turned to Shen Zhiqiu.
Yue Minghui answered for her: “Zhiqiu loves Su-style five-nut.”
She remembered how last year, Shen Zhiqiu had eaten several slices, her almond-shaped eyes lighting up with rare delight, cheeks adorably puffed like a little squirrel.
That was the first time Yue Minghui had actually liked her.
“Right, Zhiqiu? If I’m wrong, tell Big Brother what you really want.”
“This year, we’ll finally have a proper Mid-Autumn Festival—just family, no troublemakers ruining the mood!”
At the mention of “troublemakers,” Yue Minghui’s hand, holding a Xiangfei fan, stilled. Her eyes turned icy.
She never forgot a grudge, and she and Li Yan had never gotten along. She’d only tolerated her out of respect for Yue Mingde.
Now that they were divorced? No more niceties.
“Xiao Hui.” Wan Jiayin nudged her, signaling her to tone it down.
“Mom, I’m not wrong. Every year, she’d start drama. Remember how she’d scowl the second I came home? Like I was intruding on her house?
“She’d just sit there, barking orders like some empress. Ridiculous!”
Rolling her eyes, Yue Minghui gave Yue Mingde a thumbs-up. “Brother, divorcing her was the smartest decision you ever made!”
Yue Mingde laughed helplessly and changed the subject by pulling out the pouch. “Zhiqiu, this is a protective talisman I got for Ya Ya.”
He’d planned to say it was from Li Yan, but given the mood, better not.
“Thank you, Big Brother.” Shen Zhiqiu took it without suspicion.
Just then, the kids wheeled Ya Ya over like she was the center of the universe. Shen Zhiqiu leaned down to place the pouch beside her.
“Ya Ya, this is a talisman from Uncle. Say thank you.”
Ya Ya waved her little jade-adorned hand at Yue Mingde. He was about to pick her up when—
Whoosh!
The pouch in Shen Zhiqiu’s hand suddenly burst into flames.
With a startled cry, she dropped it. Quick-thinking Yue Youxin grabbed a broom, scooped it up, and flung it out of the courtyard.
“Ugh! It stinks!”
Everyone covered their noses. Even without knowing much about mysticism, they could tell—nothing that smelled this foul when burned was a protective talisman.
Wan Jiayin’s face darkened. “Mingde, tell me the truth. Where did this come from?”
Yue Mingde didn’t dare lie. “Mom, Li Yan gave it to me. She said her mother got it for Ya Ya before the full-moon celebration.”
“I’ll go confront her right now!”
Turning to Shen Zhiqiu, he bowed his head. “Zhiqiu, I’m so sorry. I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
