About half an hour after eating, Yaya would start getting sleepy, and then she’d sleep until around three or four in the afternoon.
Seeing that she was fast asleep, Yue Mingyuan couldn’t resist leaning down and giving her little rosy cheek a kiss.
Ling Hang took Ye Jiawen to the back mountain again. There really wasn’t anywhere else to go around here except the back mountain, but luckily the scenery there was pretty nice, with different views in each season.
“Zhiqiu, this is for you.”
Yue Mingyuan took a bulging envelope from his locked desk drawer and handed it to Ye Zhiqiu. As soon as she took it, she could feel that it was stuffed with quite a bit of money.
Before Ye Zhiqiu could ask, Yue Mingyuan explained on his own. “This is the bonus from my last mission, plus some other pay. You can take it with you to Jiangning. The cost of living there is higher than it is here. If you see something you like, just buy it.”
“No, this isn’t even enough.”
Yue Mingyuan took Ye Zhiqiu’s hand. “Take out some more after you get home.”
Ye Zhiqiu was going on this trip for work. Besides her, several other people were also going to Jiangning together. The higher-level organization had bought plane tickets for all of them as a group.
Then, upon arriving in Jiangning, someone would pick them up at the airport.
Planes were better than trains in every way, which was why Yue Mingyuan felt comfortable letting Ye Zhiqiu bring more money.
“I’m going there for training. I probably won’t have time to go shopping. I don’t need to bring too much.”
“You’ll have time after the training is done. Besides, better to have more money when you’re away from home, just in case. It’s never wrong to bring extra.”
“Jiangning’s commercial development is way ahead of ours. Since you’re going, you should take a look around.”
Ye Zhiqiu leaned on Yue Mingyuan’s shoulder. “Okay, I’ll take a look around. We don’t have much film left at home, so I’ll buy some more. Also, I’ll get some gifts for the family.”
Ever since they got married, Yue Mingyuan had never let Ye Zhiqiu go without money. His way of expressing love was very simple and straightforward – either he gave her money or he gave her gifts.
That courtyard house was a perfect example. He’d transferred it to her name, just like that.
He basically didn’t keep any of his salary or bonuses for himself. He gave it all to her.
Every time she told him to keep some for himself, he’d just say he had nowhere to spend it, so there was no need.
“Mingyuan, is there anything you need?”
Ye Zhiqiu really wanted to give Yue Mingyuan a gift too, but no matter how much she thought about it, she just ended up buying him clothes. She honestly couldn’t figure out what else to get him.
Yue Mingyuan answered very quickly. “No.”
The only thing he was really interested in was guns. Unlike Ling Hang, who also liked watches.
“Buy more clothes and shoes for yourself, and also bags. If you see any jewelry you like, buy that too. If you don’t have enough money, give me a call, and I’ll send it to you right away. Or, I have a friend over there. I can have him give you the money first.”
Ye Zhiqiu felt a bit helpless. “My clothes already fill the whole wardrobe. I can’t wear that many.”
“Then buy cosmetics. They have some foreign brands over there that I hear are pretty good.”
Yue Minghui loved things like cosmetics and perfume, especially perfume. Whenever she went on a business trip to Jiangning or Hong Kong, she’d always bring back several bottles of perfume.
She was always chattering about those brands in front of him, which made it hard for him not to remember them.
“Do you want to sleep for a while too?” Yue Mingyuan tucked the hair beside Ye Zhiqiu’s face behind her ear, then couldn’t help touching her earlobe.
He really loved touching Ye Zhiqiu’s earlobes. They were so soft and fleshy.
“I am actually a little tired. I’ll just sleep for a short while, then I’ll go back to practicing driving, okay?”
“Okay.”
After Ye Zhiqiu lay down, she moved over a bit. She thought Yue Mingyuan wanted to lie down with her, but instead, after he covered her with a blanket, he gently patted her. “You sleep with Yaya. I have some things to take care of.”
Ye Zhiqiu didn’t think too much about it. She held Yaya’s little hand and fell asleep shortly after.
Yue Mingyuan looked at the sleeping faces of his mother and daughter, feeling completely content.
Ye Zhiqiu’s naps usually lasted about half an hour. However, Yue Mingyuan’s bed was particularly hard, which made sleeping on it very uncomfortable for her. If she hadn’t been so tired, she probably wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep at all.
Yue Mingyuan had prepared a mug of boiled water and set it aside to cool for Ye Zhiqiu. He knew she always liked to drink some water after waking up from her nap.
“I wonder when Xiao Hang and Sister Jiawen will be back,” Ye Zhiqiu said, looking out the door.
They needed someone to watch Yaya. Even though Yaya was asleep, she still felt uneasy if no one was there to keep an eye on her.
“Zhiqiu, would it be okay if Heizi helped watch Yaya?” Yue Mingyuan led Ye Zhiqiu to stand by the window and pointed to a majestic-looking German Shepherd not too far away.
“Heizi is a military dog. He’s been credited with many meritorious deeds in the line of duty. Now that he’s getting older, I keep him by my side.”
Heizi was sitting there, looking in the direction of Yue Mingyuan and Ye Zhiqiu. His chest was puffed out, his tongue was hanging out, and he looked both handsome and cute.
Normally, Heizi stayed inside the office. Yue Mingyuan knew that Ye Zhiqiu was afraid of dogs, so since she was visiting today, he had told Heizi to go play outside.
Heizi knew this area better than the new recruits. For him, this was his territory.
Every day, he would patrol the area before calling it a day.
“Heizi is very gentle. He would never hurt Yaya. I already had him smell some of Yaya’s things before, so he’s familiar with her scent.”
As Yue Mingyuan spoke, he kept an eye on Ye Zhiqiu’s expression. He was ready to drop the subject immediately if she so much as furrowed her brow.
“It’s just that I’m afraid of dogs. I don’t dislike them. I know dogs are all very good.”
Ye Zhiqiu looked a bit doubtful. “But… can he really watch Yaya properly?”
“I’ll have him come inside. You can hide behind me, okay?” Yue Mingyuan positioned himself in front of Ye Zhiqiu.
Ye Zhiqiu trusted that Yue Mingyuan could protect her. She nodded slightly. “Okay.”
Yue Mingyuan called out, “Heizi, come!” And Heizi came running over like a gust of wind.
As soon as Heizi entered the room, he went straight to the bed. As it happened, Yaya had just kicked off the blanket covering her. Heizi grabbed a corner of the blanket with his mouth, pulled it back up, and covered Yaya again.
Ye Zhiqiu was pleasantly surprised. “He’s so smart!”
Heizi seemed to understand Ye Zhiqiu’s compliment and raised his head proudly.
“We’ll be right nearby. If Yaya wakes up, Heizi will let us know.”
Yue Mingyuan continued to help Ye Zhiqiu practice driving, letting her get a better feel for the car.
Yaya woke up as usual, a little after four o’clock. The blanket covering her was Yue Mingyuan’s. It had her dad’s scent, which made her feel very safe.
But as soon as she opened her eyes and saw a big dog’s head right in front of her face, she got a bit of a fright.
Heizi gently patted Yaya to soothe her.
Yaya had Hua Hua turn on that special switch. She gently touched Heizi’s paw. [Hello there, handsome big doggy.]
Heizi’s eyes lit up. [Yaya, you can talk to me?]
But Yaya was even more shocked. [How do you know my name is Yaya?]
Heizi turned his head slightly towards the window. [Your dad told me.]
[Then what’s your name?]
[I’m Heizi.]
Heizi saw Yaya trying to turn over and sit up. He positioned his two paws carefully around her to keep her from falling off the bed.
[Heizi, where are my mom and dad?]
Yaya sat up and saw that the room was completely empty. She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
