Ye Zhiqiu didn’t pay much mind to it; after all, many people in the world look alike.
Seeing Yue Mingyuan return with an unpleasant expression, she quickly exchanged a few more pleasantries with Huang Yun and hung up the phone.
“Mingyuan?” Ye Zhiqiu looked at him questioningly with her eyes.
Yue Mingyuan didn’t hide anything from her and told her what Tan Jianping had uncovered.
Regarding this matter, Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. What kind of person Chen Can was, she had seen through clearly after that incident.
“Forget about him. Don’t let him affect our lives.”
Ye Zhiqiu held Yue Mingyuan’s hands in both of hers. “Mingyuan, do you have to return to your unit tonight?”
It was said to be a three-day leave, but in reality, he only had two full days at home. During those two days, Yue Mingyuan wished he could spend all 24 hours with Ye Zhiqiu and Ya Ya. Yet, the more he felt that way, the faster time seemed to fly. It truly felt like in the blink of an eye, they had to part again.
Ye Zhiqiu hugged Yue Mingyuan tightly. “What am I going to do? I don’t want you to go.”
“What am I going to do? I don’t want to go either,” Yue Mingyuan said, tilting his head to kiss Ye Zhiqiu’s cheek.
But no matter how much they didn’t want to, parting was inevitable. Not only was Ye Zhiqiu reluctant, but Ya Ya was too, clutching Yue Mingyuan’s finger tightly, her little mouth opening and closing continuously.
During the meal, she suddenly called out clearly: “Daddy!”
The whole family was stunned, especially Yue Mingyuan, who was rarely caught off guard. The last time was when he learned Ye Zhiqiu was pregnant and he was going to be a father.
“Zhiqiu, did you hear that?” Yue Mingyuan was so excited he could hardly speak coherently. “Ya Ya called me… called me… called me Daddy!”
“I heard,” Ye Zhiqiu said, feeling a twinge of jealousy. She teased Ya Ya, “Ya Ya, call Mommy.”
“Mommy!”
Having called out ‘Daddy’, Ya Ya called ‘Mommy’ even more smoothly.
Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes immediately reddened. Both she and Yue Mingyuan were moved to tears. The family had been feeling somewhat sad about Yue Mingyuan’s imminent departure, but Ya Ya’s speech instantly diverted everyone’s attention.
Yue Guohuai was the first to lean in front of Ya Ya, pointing at himself. “Ya Ya, call Grandad, call Grandad.”
“Yeh~” Ya Ya managed a sound with some difficulty.
But this alone overjoyed Yue Guohuai. He picked Ya Ya up and covered her with kisses. “Grandad’s precious darling, oh, Grandad’s big precious darling! Oh my, our big precious darling can call Grandad!”
“Ya Ya, call it again.”
Ya Ya struggled for a long time, then blew a bubble. After a brief pause of surprise, she smiled rather sheepishly. This sent everyone into another round of laughter.
“Daddy!”
Ya Ya looked at Yue Mingyuan, reaching out her hands, wanting him to hold her.
Yue Mingyuan quickly took Ya Ya into his arms. His chest felt swollen with emotion at that moment; he almost wished he could go run fifty kilometers with a weighted pack, thinking that might help burn off some of this overwhelming excitement.
“Daddy… Daddy… Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.”
Ya Ya called “Daddy” several times in a row. Yue Mingyuan responded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, yes, yes. Ya Ya, Daddy’s here, sweetie. Daddy’s here.”
“Hehe.”
Ya Ya gave a sweet smile, suddenly clapping both her little hands onto Yue Mingyuan’s face and leaning in to give him a kiss.
Yue Mingyuan’s heart felt utterly sweet, as if it had been soaked in a honey pot. Yue Guohuai and Yue Mingli beside them were nearly green with envy, especially Yue Mingli.
He glanced back at Meng Fang’s belly. Meng Fang knew what Yue Mingli was thinking. Honestly, she also wanted a soft and cuddly daughter like Ya Ya, but she was carrying a stinky boy instead. She had been checked; it was indeed a male fetus. At that moment, the suspense was over, and her hope was dashed.
When it was time for Yue Mingyuan to leave, Ya Ya was asleep, but her little hand still clutched his finger tightly.
Steeling his heart, he gently pried open her tiny fingers and slipped his own out. He leaned down and gave Ya Ya’s cheek a soft kiss. “Ya Ya, Daddy’s precious girl. Daddy will come back to see you when he’s on leave again.”
Leaving was even harder than last time. Yue Mingyuan felt as if his legs weighed a thousand pounds.
“Mingyuan, be careful,” Ye Zhiqiu saw him off downstairs.
Yue Mingyuan held Ye Zhiqiu tightly in his arms. “You take care of your health.”
“Call me when you know you’re going to Jiangning.”
“Okay.”
‘Hard to meet, hard to part.’ That line of poetry truly was the best description of their situation.
Ye Zhiqiu didn’t go back inside until Yue Mingyuan’s car was completely out of sight. And Yue Mingyuan kept watching her in the rearview mirror until she was gone.
Perhaps driven by desperation, Chen Can actually tried to climb the wall into the courtyard again, searching for whatever leverage Shen Liya had mentioned. This time, he was seen by a neighbor who immediately called the police.
Based on his shoe prints and fingerprints, coupled with being caught red-handed, the police quickly confirmed he was also the “thief” from last time.
Chen Can tried to explain the situation, but the police proceeded impartially. They not only contacted Ye Zhiqiu but also notified Chen Can’s superior.
Last time, Ye Zhiqiu had deliberately not clarified her relationship with Chen Can, worried the police might treat it as a domestic dispute and try to smooth things over.
She had originally thought that once the investigation identified Chen Can, and given the involvement of a crime, the matter would escalate, allowing her to get back at him for smearing her name.
Unexpectedly, Chen Can had also been secretly taking bribes. Tan Jianping had been worrying about how to find a breakthrough, and now Chen Can had delivered himself right to their doorstep.
Chen Can’s superior found the situation embarrassing and didn’t want to go, so he sent Tan Jianping to the Public Security Bureau to retrieve Chen Can.
“Ye Zhiqiu, how dare you call the police!” Chen Can, upon learning Ye Zhiqiu had reported him last time, flew into a rage.
“Chen Can, you sneaked into my home. Of course, I called the police,” Ye Zhiqiu retorted righteously. “I should be asking you: what were you doing sneaking into my house? What were you trying to steal?”
“What is there to steal in your run-down place? The most valuable thing there is that TV, and I paid for that!”
Ye Zhiqiu knew he’d say that. She pressed on, “If you weren’t stealing, then what were you doing there?”
“I…”
Naturally, Chen Can couldn’t say he was looking for something. His eyes shifted, and he decided to continue trying to frame Ye Zhiqiu. “Ye Zhiqiu, this is the pot calling the kettle black! You were the one who asked me to come! You said you couldn’t forget me, that you wanted to see me.”
Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu remained completely calm. Her reasoning was exceptionally clear. “You say I asked you to come. How did we communicate? Did I call you, or did you call me?”
“Of course, you called me.”
Ye Zhiqiu’s calm reaction unsettled Chen Can, but now, apart from stubbornly insisting it was Ye Zhiqiu who had invited him for a tryst, he had no other option.
Seeing Xu Xun and Xu Wan arrive, Chen Can deliberately raised his voice. “I’m about to marry Wanwan. Why would I call you? Besides, what we had ended long ago.”
“Ye Zhiqiu, stop pestering me, alright?”
“How can you be so shameless!”
