He Bin returned to the martial arts school later than the allowed time, so the coach punished him by making him stand on a wooden post outside for an hour.
Staring at the full moon in the sky, he felt really awful inside. But he had to admit that everything Lu Shuangshuang said was right.
He truly was too naive, too selfish. He only thought about how he liked her and wanted to be with her, without ever considering her situation.
And he actually had the nerve to ask her to wait for him. What did he have to offer for her to wait? What gave him the right to ask her to wait?
But he wasn’t going to give up. He would work hard toward all the requirements she mentioned.
Once he succeeded, as long as she was still single, he should be qualified to pursue her by then, right?
Oh no!
He Bin suddenly remembered that his sister was leaving tomorrow to pursue further studies.
After standing for the full hour, he quickly called Ye Jiawu over and asked the coach if they could call Ye Zhiqiu.
“Sis, tomorrow Xiaowu and I will ask for leave to see you off,” He Bin told Ye Zhiqiu.
Ye Zhiqiu chuckled softly. “No need. My flight is early tomorrow morning, and there are other people going too. We’re meeting up, and then a car will take us to the airport.”
“I was just about to call you two. Did you eat any mooncakes?” Ye Zhiqiu changed the subject.
“Yeah, we did. They weren’t good.” He Bin made a face. “If I weren’t afraid of making Dad unhappy, I wouldn’t have wanted to take a single bite.”
“Xiaowu ate several pieces. He likes them.”
“What do you mean ‘like them’? I only ate them because you weren’t eating yours, and I thought wasting food would be bad.” Ye Jiawu grabbed the phone receiver. “Zhiqiu Jie, my sister and Xiaohang Ge took me to look at the moon earlier.”
“Xiaohang Ge even gave me a shell casing armored vehicle. It’s super cool.”
“Someday, I’ll definitely be able to drive a real armored vehicle.”
“Are you done? If you’re done, let me say a couple of things.”
He Bin snatched the receiver back, then covered it with his hand and waved at Ye Jiawu. “You go back to the dorm first. I need to ask my sister about something.”
“What’s the big mystery?” Ye Jiawu pouted and mumbled to himself, but he still obediently turned and left.
After Ye Jiawu was far enough away, He Bin finally asked Ye Zhiqiu, “Sis… um… how can I earn a whole lot of money?”
He didn’t know how to go about it, and he didn’t feel comfortable asking his dad.
After thinking it over, his only option was to ask his sister.
She was so smart, she’d definitely know.
“Earn a whole lot of money? Xiao Xiang, is there something you need a lot of money for?”
“Sis, I just want to earn a whole lot of money.”
“So you don’t want to join the military anymore?”
Ye Zhiqiu’s question threw He Bin into a dilemma. “Sis, if I join the military, does that mean I can’t earn a whole lot of money?”
“Our country treats its soldiers very well. All the benefits are above average. But being a soldier isn’t a profession where you can earn a huge amount of money.”
Ye Zhiqiu answered He Bin seriously. “If you really want to earn a lot of money, then you definitely can’t join the military. Or, you could serve for a few years and then earn money after you get out.”
“But as for exactly how to earn a lot of money, I really don’t know. Let me ask around for you, okay?”
“Okay, Sis. I’ll leave it to you then. I’ll think about it myself too.”
“Alright.”
Ye Zhiqiu opened her mouth, wanting to ask He Bin if his change of heart had anything to do with Lu Shuangshuang. But after a moment’s thought, she felt it was better not to ask too directly.
People’s thoughts change, especially at Xiao Xiang’s age. His mind might change from one day to the next. The fact that he knew what he wanted to do was already pretty good. The worst thing is not knowing what you want to do at all.
“Ma… ma…”
Ye Zhiqiu hung up the phone and went back to her room, only to hear Yaya sitting there, her little mouth repeatedly calling out “mama.”
It still wasn’t continuous, but her pronunciation was much clearer than before.
Ye Zhiqiu scooped up Yaya. Yaya wrapped her little arms around Ye Zhiqiu’s neck and gave her a big smack on the cheek. “Ma… ma.”
“Yes.” Ye Zhiqiu cried tears of joy, pressing her forehead against Yaya’s little forehead, a wave of deep reluctance washing over her.
“Yaya, even though Mommy has told you this many times, I still want to say it to you again.”
She set Yaya down and crouched in front of her.
Yaya nodded, tilted her head, and put her little hand by her ear to show she was listening carefully.
Lately, Yaya had picked up a lot of new little gestures. Using this one to show she was paying attention was super cute.
“Yaya, Mommy is leaving very, very early tomorrow morning. By the time you wake up, Mommy might already be gone.”
Yaya nodded. Her little face, which had been smiling just a moment ago, fell. She patted her own little chest and pouted her lips to show that she would be good.
“Mommy knows Yaya will be good. Yaya is the best, most well-behaved baby.” Ye Zhiqiu ruffled Yaya’s hair.
“Yaya, if you go out to play and someone bullies you, remember to come back and tell Grandpa, Grandma, and your Second Uncle and Second Aunt.”
Yaya waved her hand, then pointed at Little White and Little Bear beside her to show that she wouldn’t get bullied. Little White and Little Bear would protect her.
When Yaya pointed at them, both Little White and Little Bear puffed out their chests like two little guards.
Besides, her mom still didn’t fully know her personality. If someone dared to bully her, she’d only come back to tattle if she lost. But usually, she’d get her revenge right then and there.
And not to mention, there was also Little Demon. She couldn’t guarantee anything else, but she was absolutely sure that Little Demon would never let anyone bully her.
And if someone dared to bully both of them together… well, that person probably had no desire to stay in this world.
“Yaya, Mommy is going to miss you. So, so, so much. But this opportunity is very important to Mommy too.”
Ye Zhiqiu held Yaya’s little hand and shook it gently. She didn’t know if Yaya could understand everything she was saying, but she still wanted to tell her.
“Yaya, it’s not that Mommy doesn’t love you. Mommy is leaving because she has to go to work.”
“You are very, very important to Mommy. But dance is also very important to Mommy. You are both parts of Mommy’s life. But Mommy just can’t be everywhere at once.”
There were lots of people in the military compound, and inevitably, some gossiping mouths would say things.
Ye Zhiqiu was afraid that if she didn’t explain things clearly to Yaya, Yaya might misunderstand and have wrong thoughts.
[Yaya will miss Mommy very, very much too. Yaya is the happiest that Mommy can go for further studies. Mommy doesn’t need to worry.]
[Mommy has Mommy’s life, and Yaya has Yaya’s life. I like the brave, determined Mommy who chases her dreams. I like the Mommy who dances.]
[When Mommy dances, she shines so brightly. I hope Mommy can keep shining forever.]
Ye Zhiqiu heard Yaya’s thoughts and was deeply moved.
Her family’s support was her biggest motivation. Whether it was Yue Mingyuan, her in-laws, or Yaya, they had all always supported her unconditionally.
Early the next morning, Ye Zhiqiu carried her suitcase and tiptoed downstairs. To her surprise, Yue Guohuai, Wan Jiayin, and Yue Mingli were all waiting for her downstairs.
“Zhiqiu, it’s still dark out. Let your Second Brother take you.”
Wan Jiayin stepped forward and took Ye Zhiqiu’s hand. “Don’t worry about home, and don’t worry about Yaya. We’re here. We’ll take good care of Yaya.”
