“Brother Tan, what do you think we should use as our starting point?” Yue Mingyuan asked Tan Jianping for his opinion.
Tan Jianping shook his head: “I haven’t got a clue about that either.”
Yue Mingyuan spoke up: “I heard Chen Can was beaten up before. Has the specific situation been investigated clearly?”
“If he doesn’t take such matters seriously himself, naturally no one else will bother with them.”
Tan Jianping caught on: “Mingyuan, are you suggesting we start with this incident?”
“He was beaten up for no apparent reason, and given his temperament, he didn’t pursue it. I think this matter is worth us looking into.”
“It is indeed worth looking into.”
Tan Jianping put out his cigarette: “Chen Can said he passed out at Baihua Alley.”
“Baihua Alley? What was he doing there?”
“I don’t know, he didn’t say.” Tan Jianping said: “I don’t know the details either. Should we start investigating from Baihua Alley?”
“That seems to be the only lead we have for now.”
Tan Jianping and Yue Mingyuan each had their own people. The two men divided their teams to act separately. Yue Mingyuan’s people were responsible for tailing Chen Can, observing who he came into contact with.
Meanwhile, Tan Jianping’s men went to Baihua Alley to investigate why Chen Can had gone there.
Upon returning home, Yue Mingyuan didn’t hide anything from Ye Zhiqiu and informed her about the matter.
“I’ll ask Second Brother to check on the progress of the report you filed. It could coordinate well with Brother Tan’s side.”
“Okay.”
Knock, knock, knock!
Wan Jiayin knocked on the door: “Xiao Yuan, Zhiqiu, it’s me.”
Ye Zhiqiu hurried to open the door: “Mom.”
“Your father, I don’t know what’s gotten into him, insisted I come over to take Ya Ya to sleep with us.”
As she spoke, Wan Jiayin walked into the room, took Ya Ya’s little hand, and gently tilted her chin towards her: “Ya Ya, how about sleeping with Grandpa and Grandma tonight, hmm?”
Ya Ya understood her grandma was trying to create an opportunity for her parents to be alone together, and she was all for it. She smiled and nodded.
“Oh my, our Ya Ya is such a good girl.”
Wan Jiayin looked up at Yue Mingyuan and Ye Zhiqiu: “Xiao Yuan, Zhiqiu, I’ll be taking Ya Ya then, alright?”
Yue Mingyuan and Ye Zhiqiu exchanged a glance, both feeling their faces grow warm.
Ye Zhiqiu shyly lowered her head. Yue Mingyuan stepped forward: “Mom, we’ll trouble you and Dad tonight.”
“What trouble? We’re happy to do it.”
Wan Jiayin pushed the small bed, looking at Ya Ya with a very loving smile: “Ya Ya, off we go with Grandma.”
Yue Guohuai was waiting not far from the doorway. He came forward and picked Ya Ya up from the small bed: “Sweetie, are you hungry, hmm? Grandpa will make you some milk.”
Ya Ya nodded. Yue Guohuai was so delighted he practically danced with joy: “Wait just a moment.”
Nowadays, everyone in the family was very skilled at preparing formula. Yue Guohuai held Ya Ya while Wan Jiayin sat beside them.
Even though they had seen it many times, they still found the sight of Ya Ya drinking her milk especially adorable each time.
The vibrant life force of the little one even moved Yue Guohuai and Wan Jiayin somewhat.
“Ya Ya, grow up quickly.”
Yue Guohuai held Ya Ya’s little hand: “When you’re bigger, Grandpa will teach you how to shoot.”
Ya Ya waved her little fist, very excited: [Can I really learn to shoot in the future? I also want to learn martial arts! Then no one can bully me, or our family!]
“That’s my granddaughter!”
Yue Guohuai laughed heartily and lowered his head to kiss Ya Ya. Wan Jiayin quickly stopped him: “You haven’t shaved, don’t scratch Ya Ya.”
“Look at me, I was just too happy.” Yue Guohuai stood up: “I’ll go shave right now.”
When Yue Guohuai came out after shaving, he saw Wan Jiayin carefully placing Ya Ya back in the small bed. He immediately softened his steps, lowered his voice, and whispered: “Fell asleep already?”
“She was getting sleepy when I came in. The little one forced herself to stay up a while longer to keep us company.”
Wan Jiayin covered Ya Ya with a blanket. Hearing a soft meow, she opened the door to see Xiao Bai sitting curled up by the doorway.
“Come on in.”
Xiao Bai trotted in on her short legs, climbed up the side of the small bed, and curled up next to Ya Ya.
The two adorable little ones were so cute it could melt your heart.
Yue Guohuai bent down and kissed Ya Ya’s little cheek: “Sleep well, sweetie.”
Meanwhile, after Wan Jiayin left, both Yue Mingyuan and Ye Zhiqiu felt quite awkward, especially Ye Zhiqiu.
“Zhiqiu, I was thinking the three of us could go out together tomorrow? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
Yue Mingyuan deliberately kept a little distance from Ye Zhiqiu, giving her psychological space to gradually accept him.
Ye Zhiqiu shook her head: “I don’t have anywhere specific in mind.”
“Shall I make the arrangements then? Tomorrow morning, we could first go to Haiying Park.”
Haiying Park had the largest artificial lake in Guojing, and it was a good season for boating.
“Then for lunch, we can decide where to eat. After lunch, we’ll rest a bit, and then go shopping at Yansha Plaza.”
Yue Mingyuan’s plan was quite thoughtful. Ye Zhiqiu had no other objections: “Alright.”
“I’ll go heat you a cup of milk.” Yue Mingyuan stood up.
Ye Zhiqiu stood up as well: “Let’s go together.”
Yue Mingyuan was only back for three days. Who knew when they would see each other next? She cherished these three days very much.
Yue Mingyuan was naturally very pleased. He took Ye Zhiqiu’s hand. As they passed Yue Mingli and Meng Fang’s room, Yue Mingli was just coming out.
“Second Brother.” Yue Mingyuan and Ye Zhiqiu greeted Yue Mingli in unison.
Yue Mingli asked the couple: “It’s so late, where are you two off to?”
“To the kitchen to heat some milk.”
“Perfect timing, I’m heading to the kitchen too.”
Yue Mingli scratched his head: “Your sister-in-law is hungry. Suddenly craves fried rice with eggs.”
“I’m afraid I won’t do it well, but it’s this late, and I thought Mom and Auntie Zhao might already be asleep.”
“Second Brother, I’ll make it.”
As he spoke, Yue Mingyuan had already taken out the eggs and directed Yue Mingli: “Get the leftover rice from the fridge.”
“Okay, sure thing.” Yue Mingli wasn’t a good cook, but he was good at assisting.
Yue Mingyuan took a moment to also heat milk for Ye Zhiqiu: “Zhiqiu, are you hungry?”
Ye Zhiqiu nodded: “Make a little for me too.”
“Alright.”
Yue Mingyuan gently nudged Ye Zhiqiu: “You wait for me in the dining room. There’s a lot of oil smoke here.”
Ye Zhiqiu carried the milk to the dining room and saw Meng Fang coming downstairs. She quickly put down her cup and went forward to support her.
“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m not that fragile.”
Meng Fang was already showing, but she was still quite agile.
Passing by the kitchen, she peeked in and frowned: “Why is Xiao Yuan cooking?”
“You know my second brother’s cooking skills, right?” Ye Zhiqiu frankly had no faith in Yue Mingli’s culinary abilities.
“True.” Meng Fang leaned closer to Ye Zhiqiu: “I’m probably the only one brave enough to eat what he cooks.”
“Mainly, I’m really hungry. If I don’t eat what he makes, what else can I eat at this hour?”
Meng Fang asked Ye Zhiqiu: “Zhiqiu, did you get hungry at night when you were pregnant?”
“I did too.”
Ye Zhiqiu remembered when she was pregnant with Ya Ya, she would get terribly hungry at night. Fortunately, Dong Xiaomei would either save extra food for her beforehand or share her snacks with her.
She had never been picky about food since childhood, so she was easy to care for. The only time she was really greedy was when she specifically craved the noodles Yue Mingyuan made.
