After returning to the capital, she’d run into Han Li a few times. He still treated her the same as before—but the way he acted around that other girl was completely different.
She’d finally let it go and moved on. Her feelings for him had always been her own business. Not every crush gets reciprocated—sometimes, it’s just one-sided.
And what happened to Wen Shengnan had been a wake-up call. Jealousy born from love—if she didn’t let go, she’d become obsessed, and then she could easily end up just like Wen Shengnan, or make one wrong decision in a moment of poor judgment.
Lately, though, Zhou Bingyan kept popping into her head. Mostly because he called her every single day, no matter how busy he was. Sometimes it was just a few words—asking how she was doing, if there was anything she felt like eating.
Even her parents had noticed that Zhou Bingyan had feelings for her. But even knowing he was the same “Little Fatty Zhou” from childhood, they weren’t exactly thrilled about it.
Jiangning was wonderful—but no matter how wonderful it was, it was still too far from the capital.
She did have an older brother, but her parents had always favored her.
She understood where they were coming from, too. If it were her daughter, she wouldn’t want her marrying far away either.
“If I ever have a daughter, I’m not letting her get married out—I’ll find her a live-in son-in-law instead.”
“And if that jerk ever dares to bully my little girl, even if I can’t move a muscle, I’ll fight him with everything I’ve got.”
Fan Xue’s words got Ye Zhiqiu thinking.
She’d never really considered this before. But hearing Fan Xue say that, she suddenly felt a little uneasy.
“Mommy.”
Seeing Ye Zhiqiu looking at her, Yaya toddled over, climbed into her lap, and snuggled against her.
Ye Zhiqiu then turned her gaze to Huo Jiusi. His heart skipped a beat.
He swallowed nervously. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he had a feeling he knew exactly what Auntie Ye was thinking.
Huo Jiusi already understood what it meant for two people to get married—it was like his parents, and Uncle Yue and Auntie Ye.
And if he wanted to stay with Yaya forever, then he’d have to marry her.
“Auntie Ye, wherever Yaya goes, there I’ll be,” Huo Jiusi declared, pledging his loyalty on the spot.
And he truly meant it. He didn’t want to be apart from Yaya—not for a single second.
So naturally, wherever Yaya was, that’s where he’d be.
Ye Zhiqiu was taken aback. She’d had that exact worry, but she hadn’t expected Huo Jiusi to catch on to what she was thinking.
Fan Xue looked from Huo Jiusi to Yaya and burst out laughing. “Jiusi, how old are you and Yaya, huh? You’re already thinking that far ahead?”
“Auntie Fan, didn’t you and Uncle Zhou know each other since you were kids? Yaya and I are childhood sweethearts too—grew up together.”
Fan Xue blinked, at a loss for words.
Should she deny her relationship with Zhou Bingyan, or should she burst Huo Jiusi’s bubble and tell him the future was still far off?
If Huo Jiusi was the one by Yaya’s side, Ye Zhiqiu wouldn’t object. After all, everyone in the family had seen just how devoted he was to Yaya.
Neither she nor Yue Mingyuan paid as much attention to Yaya as Huo Jiusi did.
From eating and drinking to sleeping and everything in between—Huo Jiusi thought of every little detail.
And though they’d bought plenty of things for Yaya too, most of what she used came from him.
It was no exaggeration to say that Huo Jiusi had been flying in planeloads of stuff from abroad—many of them one-of-a-kind items.
Take Yaya’s doll, for instance—apparently there was only one in the entire world, and every piece of jewelry on it was real.
Of course, Yaya had plenty of jewelry herself. The jade pendant Huo Jiusi gave her now hung around her neck.
She also had full matching sets of pearl and diamond jewelry—even Yue Minghui was amazed when she saw them.
Before they knew it, the New Year had arrived. On the morning of the thirtieth, Ye Zhiqiu took Yaya to see Yue Mingyuan.
He wouldn’t be able to come home for the New Year this time, and after the holidays, Ye Zhiqiu would have to leave for Jiangning again. They had so few days together—they had to make the most of every single one.
Yaya was dressed all in red—a red velvet dress, a long red cotton-padded jacket over it, and a pair of little red sheepskin boots.
To make sure Yaya had custom clothes, Huo Jiusi had asked his father to buy a children’s clothing factory, and the designers there had to create several new outfits for Yaya every month.
You could say the whole factory prioritized Yaya above everything else. And her designs weren’t allowed to be sold—they could only produce modified versions after making changes.
“Daddy!”
Spotting Yue Mingyuan from afar, Yaya waved at him with all her might. Her tiny, milky voice was carried off by the wind, sounding almost ethereal.
The guards now all recognized Ye Zhiqiu and Yaya—especially Yaya.
She was the darling of the entire battalion. Even the greenest recruits, who didn’t know the battalion commander or the political commissar, all knew Yaya.
Yue Mingyuan jogged over quickly. He scooped up Yaya in one arm and took Ye Zhiqiu’s hand with the other. “Are you freezing?”
“Not cold.”
Ye Zhiqiu was wearing her military greatcoat, with a padded jacket and pants underneath. But she had to admit—out in this open field, the northwest wind cut right through her.
Thankfully, she exercised every day and had taken several rounds of the Chinese herbal remedies Dong Hesong had prescribed. Her constitution was much better than before.
The most noticeable difference was that she could handle the cold now. In the past, a windy day like this would’ve knocked her flat with illness. She still felt cold, sure—but deep down, her core was warm.
“Let’s go.”
Yue Mingyuan had brought two extra greatcoats. He wrapped one around Yaya and draped the other over Ye Zhiqiu’s shoulders, then guided her into the car.
“You drive.”
He settled into the passenger seat with Yaya on his lap, motioning for Ye Zhiqiu to drive them back to his office.
“It’s been a while since I last drove.”
Ye Zhiqiu was a little nervous. “What if I mess up?”
“Riding a bike, swimming, and driving—once you learn, you never forget. Just give it a try.”
Yue Mingyuan gestured for her to start the engine.
Ye Zhiqiu ran through the steps he’d taught her last time, one by one. And sure enough—she handled it just as smoothly as before.
“Once you’re back in Jiangning, you’ll have weekends off, right?” Yue Mingyuan asked.
Ye Zhiqiu nodded. “Yeah. The next time I go, we’ll be rehearsing the dance drama—same as when we were at the troupe. We’ll have Saturdays and Sundays off.”
“How about I have a friend sign you up for a driver’s license test over there?”
“A license? Can I actually go for one?” Ye Zhiqiu got so excited that the steering wheel slipped for a second—but she quickly corrected it.
She’d looked into it before. Driver’s licenses were notoriously hard to get; usually, only personnel from a unit’s motor pool were eligible to apply.
“My friend has his own factory over there, and they have a motor pool. We can register your name under their fleet.”
“For the theory part, you’ll need to learn some basic mechanics. I think you’ll handle it fine. And if you run into anything you don’t understand, he’s got veteran mechanics there you can ask for help.”
