Because Yaya had just been born when Yue Guohuai got promoted, and because she smiled at everyone she met and was liked by little animals, her reputation as a little lucky star spread far and wide quite effortlessly.
Not just in the family housing area, but even the cultural troupe and the special forces unit had heard about it.
With this kind of thing, if you really tried hard to find proof, you could definitely find it. For example, Ye Zhiqiu regained her position as lead dancer as soon as she returned to the team, or how Yue Mingyuan had made contributions on his last mission.
Yue Mingyuan could already imagine just how wildly exaggerated today’s scene would become.
But his daughter really was just that special.
“Dad!”
Yaya called out this time particularly crisply and clearly. Of course, Yue Mingyuan answered even more crisply, his proud grin impossible to wipe off his face: “Yaya, Dad’s right here.”
“Woof!”
Yaya pointed at the puppies and gave Yue Mingyuan the sweetest smile.
“Yes, puppies. Woof woof.”
Yue Mingyuan gently nuzzled Yaya’s little cheek.
Yaya pointed at one of the puppies—the one with black ears, a black tail, and black paws—and tried hard to say: “Home.”
Yue Mingyuan understood what Yaya meant: “Yaya, you want to take this puppy home?”
Yaya nodded.
Yue Mingyuan was in a difficult spot. These were all military dogs—you couldn’t just take them home to keep as pets.
Especially Blackie and Xiaomi’s puppies. Every single one of them carried top-tier genes.
If you wanted to adopt a military dog, you had to wait until they retired. And among them, Blackie was the most likely candidate.
Blackie had injured his hind leg during a previous operation. After treatment, it didn’t affect his usual running, but going on missions was absolutely out of the question.
That’s why Blackie had the privilege of wandering freely around the base.
Facing Yaya’s hopeful little eyes, Yue Mingyuan really couldn’t bear to refuse her. But the base had its own rules. Military dogs weren’t ordinary pets—to them, they were comrades-in-arms.
His daughter wanted to raise his comrade-in-arms… Well, that was a dilemma.
Yue Mingyuan wasn’t sure if Yaya would understand, but he decided to explain it to her directly: “Yaya, we can’t take the puppy home. These puppies are all military dogs.”
Yaya looked at Blackie and Xiaomi. Blackie and Xiaomi exchanged a glance, then Xiaomi directly picked up the puppy Yaya had pointed to with her mouth and placed it in Yaya’s lap. The puppy whimpered, not wanting to leave its mother.
Xiaomi gave the puppy a light tap, but when she touched Yaya, her touch was especially gentle.
“Xiaomi is giving her puppy to Captain Yue’s daughter? Oh my goodness!”
“Since Xiaomi is giving her away, we can’t really stop it. But this isn’t according to regulations!”
The trainers nearby were also troubled. Xiaomi’s trainer took a small step forward and said to Yue Mingyuan: “Captain Yue, why don’t you go talk to the leadership?”
Everyone in the unit knew that Captain Yue was special to the leadership. Not because he was General Yue’s son, of course, but because of Captain Yue’s abilities.
Yue Mingyuan suddenly remembered that aside from going on missions, during the last exercise, he had carried out a decapitation strike against the enemy’s highest commander, and the Battalion Commander had promised to grant him one request.
Originally, he had planned to use that request to get leave to go home, but the Battalion Commander, being considerate of his newborn daughter, had specially approved three days of leave for him—which was the time he went home before.
He was just about to hand Yaya over to Ye Zhiqiu and go find the Battalion Commander to see if he could make an exception, when he saw Battalion Commander Dong Yuanbin and Political Commissar Zhao Yonggang walking over.
Yue Mingyuan quickly had Ye Zhiqiu get out of the car. The two of them stood at attention, saluted, and greeted Dong Yuanbin and Zhao Yonggang: “Battalion Commander, Political Commissar.”
“Comrade Xiao Ye, once you’re here, you’re home. Don’t be so formal.”
Zhao Yonggang said cheerfully to Ye Zhiqiu, then turned his gaze to Yaya: “Xiao Yue, this must be Yaya.”
In her past life, when Yaya’s spirit form had followed Yue Mingyuan, she had met Dong Yuanbin and Zhao Yonggang. She knew they were her father’s leaders, and that they were especially supportive and appreciative of him.
Yaya gave Zhao Yonggang a sweet smile and reached out for him to hold her. Zhao Yonggang glanced at Dong Yuanbin, then stepped forward in pleasant surprise and scooped Yaya into his arms: “Oh my, what a beautiful little girl.”
Yaya pulled a candy from her pocket, offered it to Zhao Yonggang, then reached out to Dong Yuanbin, signaling for him to hold her.
Dong Yuanbin had a knife scar running all the way across the left side of his face. Although he wasn’t as frightening as Old Zhang, most children still didn’t dare go near him.
Every time he went home, the kids who had been squatting and playing would instantly scatter. Only after he entered the stairwell would they slowly dare to come back out.
“Old Dong, hurry up. Yaya wants you to hold her.”
Zhao Yonggang handed Yaya directly to Dong Yuanbin. Dong Yuanbin looked very uncomfortable.
His wife had been living in their old county town with their son and had only moved to the capital in recent years.
He had gone back once when his son was born. By the time he went back again, his son was almost ready to start elementary school.
His son wasn’t close to him, and he hadn’t spent time with other children. He’d barely even held a child before, let alone one as young as Yaya.
Dong Yuanbin looked like he was holding a bomb, just staring wide-eyed at Yaya.
“Old Dong, why are you making such a stern face? Smile, smile.” Zhao Yonggang nudged Dong Yuanbin’s arm.
Dong Yuanbin tried his best to curl up the corners of his mouth, but it ended up looking even scarier than his usual stern expression.
Zhao Yonggang stood by, finding it both funny and frustrating: “What kind of smile is that?”
“Xiao Yue, you’d better take Yaya back. Don’t let Old Dong scare her. The poor kid will have nightmares tonight.”
Zhao Yonggang shook his head and pointed at Dong Yuanbin: “Old Dong, oh Old Dong. What can I even say to you?”
Dong Yuanbin felt quite frustrated. He could handle looking fierce and menacing, but smiling—and smiling gently at a little girl—that was truly asking too much of him.
“Giggle giggle.”
Yaya laughed out loud, wrapped her little arms softly around Dong Yuanbin’s neck, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Not only was Dong Yuanbin stunned, but everyone else was too.
“Old Dong, Yaya actually likes you quite a bit.”
Yaya pulled a candy from her pocket, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into Dong Yuanbin’s mouth: “Eat.”
The sweetness of the milk candy quickly spread through his mouth and all the way down into his heart.
Dong Yuanbin couldn’t quite put into words what he was feeling. It was just soft, really soft, and sweet—just like the milk candy in his mouth.
“Dad.”
Yaya twisted around and reached for Yue Mingyuan. As Yue Mingyuan stepped forward to take Yaya back, Dong Yuanbin found himself reluctant to let her go.
Back in Yue Mingyuan’s arms, Yaya patted him lightly and pointed toward the military dog unit.
Yue Mingyuan understood immediately. His daughter had been “bribing” the Battalion Commander and the Political Commissar in advance—letting them hold her, giving them candy—all so she could get the puppy.
Where on earth did she get such a crafty mind?
He secretly laughed to himself, but didn’t let it show on his face. After all, both his Battalion Commander and Political Commissar were sharp as knives.
“Battalion Commander, I was just about to come find you.”
“What is it?”
Dong Yuanbin quietly tried to play with Yaya, but Yaya turned her head, hugged Yue Mingyuan, and laughed happily. Dong Yuanbin found himself smiling along.
Why hadn’t his wife given him a daughter back then?
