“I have another option. See if you’re willing to go along with it. Once Xiaoxu gets out, I’ll pull some strings and have him sent to a military unit.”
Lu Guangrong let out a sigh. “If you can’t make up the dowry Feng Juan provided, and Shuangshuang really refuses to back down—insisting you make up for it, or else she’ll have Xiaoxu put back inside—what then?”
“And knowing Xiaoxu’s temperament, even if we get past this time, there’ll be a next time. What if he causes even bigger trouble? Then even I won’t be able to protect him.”
He had thought things through very clearly these past few days. Step one was to do everything possible to get Lu Xu out. Step two was to send him as far away as possible. He had already contacted an old classmate stationed in the borderlands, planning to send Lu Xu there.
Conditions out there might be harsh, but they would toughen a person up.
And most importantly, once he was there, Lu Xu wouldn’t be able to run back even if he wanted to.
But this plan required the agreement of both Sun Lanzhi and Lu Xu. That was why Lu Guangrong was pressuring Sun Lanzhi to come up with the dowry money herself. He knew she couldn’t afford it, which would give him the perfect opening to push her into accepting this alternative.
Sun Lanzhi hesitated for a moment, then, as expected, nodded. “Fine. You call the shots.”
Lu Guangrong waved a hand dismissively. “You go tell Xiaoxu about this. And if he disagrees, you tell him he can forget about getting out. Let him choose.”
“I’ll go first thing tomorrow morning.”
When Sun Lanzhi met with Lu Xu, Xiao Li was there monitoring the conversation. Afterwards, Xiao Li relayed everything to Yue Mingli.
Yue Mingli went home and told Ye Zhiqiu about it. Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t the least bit surprised.
Lu Guangrong had always intended to send Lu Xu into the military. The difference was, before, he’d wanted to get him into a good unit. Now, he just wanted him out of sight, out of mind.
If Lu Xu stayed nearby, people would see him and inevitably bring the matter up again and again.
Lu Guangrong cared deeply about his reputation. He couldn’t stand that.
The next day was the weekend. They had originally planned to take Yaya to the zoo again while the weather was mild—neither too hot nor too cold.
They’d missed seeing the pandas last time, and Qin Feng kept pestering Yue Minghui about it constantly.
But the heavens had other plans; it started raining in the middle of the night.
Qin Feng insisted on going anyway, so Qin Liping accompanied him.
With the yard too wet to play in, Yaya had no choice but to stay indoors with Huo Jiusi.
Yue Mingde stopped by in his spare time and built Yaya a little play area. With the weather set to get colder and colder, Yaya would be spending most of her time inside soon.
He used wooden planks to cordon off a corner of the living room. The outside of the planks was wrapped in the thickest foam padding, covered further with soft flannel fabric.
The floor inside was lined with leatherette, then a rug over that, and finally, on top of the rug, a layer of sheepskin padding.
Inside, Yaya couldn’t bump into anything hard or get hurt. She could sit when she wanted, crawl when she wanted, and even pull herself up holding onto the padded wooden sides to practice walking.
The mountain of toys people had given her were all placed inside, and the cats would occasionally hop in to keep her company too.
Of course, the one who spent the most time with her was still Xiao Bai. Xiao Bai and Tang Bao were practically inseparable from her.
Huo Jiusi found Xiao Bai’s constant presence rather annoying, but he didn’t dare do anything overtly to the dog. He couldn’t even say a harsh word, or Yaya would get angry with him and refuse to let him hold her tiny hand anymore.
To distract Xiao Bai, Huo Jiusi would often bring Xiao Guai over.
Xiao Guai was soft and sweet, and Yaya adored her too. And Xiao Bai, for her part, was very gentle with this youngest feline sister.
If Yaya was playing with Xiao Guai, Xiao Bai would simply stand guard nearby. But if it was any other cat, her displeasure was obvious.
If playtime with another cat went on a bit too long, she would charge over and chase the other cat away. She was quite the little tyrant.
Ye Zhiqiu and Wan Jiayin worked together to make Yaya a small sofa—something that would support her while she sat.
Yaya could sit up now, but she was still a bit wobbly. Sometimes, she’d be sitting just fine and then suddenly tilt sideways.
Luckily, there was always someone right there with her. Huo Jiusi’s reaction time had become incredibly fast.
He could even anticipate it now. At the slightest hint of imbalance, his hands would be out, ready to steady her.
Huo Jiusi had specially ordered a large collection of picture books from abroad for Yaya to look at. Yaya loved these books with their vivid images; they left a strong impression.
“Apple.” Huo Jiusi said, sitting cross-legged on the floor with Yaya nestled in his lap. One arm circled her securely while his other hand pointed to the picture in the book. “Apple.”
Yaya struggled to form the sound, but all that came out was a tiny bubble of spit. She couldn’t help but giggle at herself first.
Huo Jiusi couldn’t resist planting a kiss on Yaya’s soft cheek. “Yaya, take your time. There’s no rush,” he encouraged her gently.
Yaya nodded. I’m not in a hurry. I know I can talk. It’s just this body doesn’t quite obey me yet.
All those novels and movies lied. The idea of a baby being born able to speak, able to do this and that.
Nonsense. When she was first born, she couldn’t even manage a proper smile.
Why did she always wave her little fists around? Because she couldn’t even open her hands fully.
The only thing she could reliably do was wave those tiny fists.
Just like now. She could make sounds just fine, but actual clear words were still beyond her—unless she was truly desperate.
“Shall we continue?” Huo Jiusi asked Yaya.
Yaya’s little fingers formed an “OK” sign.
Huo Jiusi pointed to the picture of an egg. “Egg.”
Yaya swallowed a mouthful of drool. I want some sponge cake.
Huo Jiusi gave a doting smile. “We have some at home. I’ll go get it for you.”
Okay.
Huo Jiusi fetched two pieces of sponge cake from the kitchen fridge. Aunt Zhao warmed them up slightly in a dry pan for her.
While that was happening, Huo Jiusi mixed up a bottle of milk for Yaya.
Milk with sponge cake—that was Yaya’s absolute favorite treat.
She enjoyed this combination two or three times a day. On top of that, when the family sat down for meals, she would also have a little bit of noodle broth or rice soup.
“Yaya, come here. Let’s try on the little bunny shoes Mama crocheted for you.”
Ye Zhiqiu had finally finished crocheting a pair. She cradled Yaya and slipped them onto her feet, only to find they were a bit too small.
“Yaya, you’re growing so fast.”
She had measured and thought they’d be just right when she was finishing them up. And now, barely half a month later, they were already too snug.
“Mama will unravel them and make you a bigger pair.”
Ye Zhiqiu held Yaya’s little foot gently in her hand. “Big feet take you far and wide. Mama hopes that one day, Yaya will get to see far, faraway places—to see just how big this world really is.”
Kang Zhimiao walked in just as Ye Zhiqiu was saying this. The words struck her, and a profound feeling stirred in her heart.
“Zhiqiu.”
“Kang Jie?”
Ye Zhiqiu was a bit surprised to see her, but it didn’t take long for her to understand the reason for the visit.
Kang Zhixin had previously tried to harm Ye Zhiqiu, only to end up aggravating her own injuries instead.
Several leaders from the Cultural Troupe had been present at the time. Kang Zhixin had no way to explain her actions away. She was already carrying a formal disciplinary mark on her record, and after pulling a stunt like that, the Troupe leaders had made a direct decision to expel her.
Kang Zhixin refused to accept it and had been threatening to kill herself over it.
Kang Zhengqing was at his wit’s end and turned to Kang Zhimiao, pleading with her to find a solution.
Kang Zhimiao had asked around and learned exactly what had happened. She was furious.
After all the terrible things Kang Zhixin had said the last time, Kang Zhimiao genuinely had no desire to get involved.
But she also couldn’t bear to see her father so distressed. After wrestling with it, she decided to come see Ye Zhiqiu.
“Zhiqiu, I want to apologize to you on behalf of Zhixin.”
