Ye Junwan wasn’t an ordinary person either. Seeing Tang Qiyun like this, and hearing him mention that “Special Class Merit” citation, she knew right away that he was no common man.
Besides, how could any ordinary person carry themselves with such commanding presence?
Tang Qihang, the so-called “Three Young Masters of Shanghai”—compared to Tang Qiyun just now, they were worlds apart.
Having been out in the world for so long, Ye Junwan still had at least that much discernment.
Thinking that this was the very man she had rejected first and looked down on first, she pressed her lips together slightly—especially since he hadn’t even glanced at her just now.
He had treated her as if she were invisible from start to finish. Ye Junwan’s hands tightened slightly. For the first time, she felt a pang of resentment, and an even more unpleasant knot formed in her chest.
“Shouldn’t you know best? A rustic bumpkin,” Ye Shaohua said, toying with her medal. Without even looking at Ye Junwan, she turned and went straight back inside.
Ye Junwan was left standing there in silence for a long moment. A rustic bumpkin?
How could he possibly be a rustic bumpkin?
She, Ye Junwan, still had that much discernment.
No sense of perception at all. Thinking this, Ye Junwan hurried back to find her parents.
——–
Meanwhile, Tang Qiyun had also returned to the Tang family residence.
Tang Qihang and Tang Feng were in the middle of discussing a classified matter. When they saw Tang Qiyun walk in, both of them fell silent in unison.
These were the kinds of things that, unless you held the proper clearance, had to be kept from even family members.
Tang Feng picked up his teacup and was just about to ask Tang Qiyun where he had been.
But then he noticed that Tang Qiyun was wearing a military uniform.
When he had come out, Tang Qiyun had already removed his insignia. Such things couldn’t be shown casually, so for now, Tang Feng couldn’t tell which branch of the military he belonged to.
“You joined the army?” Seeing his second son like this, Tang Feng was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes lit up. “Had a change of heart? Ready to take over my troops?”
At Tang Feng’s words, Tang Qihang’s expression remained calm, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth—clearly not taking Tang Qiyun seriously.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t wary of him, but rather that he felt Tang Qiyun still posed no real threat to him.
So while Tang Qiyun was speaking with Tang Feng, he simply excused himself and left. There were still some military matters waiting for his attention.
“Yeah, I came to a realization about one thing,” Tang Qiyun said, his eyes brightening. “I can’t keep wasting my time on trivial matters.”
His other identity was a secret, but some parts of who he was could be revealed. With that in mind, he turned to Tang Feng. “Dad, I’ve set my mind on that girl Ye Shaohua!”
“Pfft—” Tang Feng spat out a mouthful of tea.
He pointed at Tang Qiyun, his finger trembling. “You, you, you… weren’t you the one who just broke off the engagement with her last time? How about I arrange a position for you?”
“That’s different. Don’t meddle in this. I’m just informing you, that’s all. As for positions, I’ll make my own way—no need for you to arrange anything.” Tang Qiyun shot back, cutting his father off, then turned and went to his room to wash up.
Tang Feng was stunned by his son’s sudden transformation.
This second son of his had always been incredibly stubborn.
Back when he was fighting in the war, he had tried to keep Tang Qiyun by his side, but the boy had flat-out refused—cold and distant, insisting on carving his own path.
It had taken Tang Feng a great deal of persuasion just to get him to come back home. But even then, he found that his second son was still as headstrong as ever, and hadn’t really made a name for himself out there. Tang Feng thought maybe arranging a good marriage for him might help change things.
Who would have thought the kid would go and privately call off the engagement with the Ye family girl?
Tang Feng had been furious.
And now he pulls a stunt like this?
“Don’t you think this kid has changed?” Tang Feng stroked his unshaven chin—he hadn’t shaved in days—and turned to look at his chief of staff.
The chief of staff nodded. The change was pretty obvious.
Before, he had been so detached and indifferent to everything, like some ethereal immortal who had descended from the heavens.
Now, he seemed a bit more… grounded. More human.
“But I like it!” Tang Feng slammed his hand on the table with a hearty laugh.
Although Tang Qihang held a high rank, he hadn’t started from the bottom. Tang Feng had directly arranged a regiment commander position for him. Watching him rise to where he was now, and then seeing Tang Qiyun insist on making his own way, Tang Feng couldn’t have been more pleased.
It reminded him of his own younger days.
——-
Over at the Ye household, Ye Junwan had just finished telling her parents about Tang Qiyun.
Ye Father had also made some inquiries. But since his authority hadn’t been fully restored yet, he could only vaguely glean that Tang Qiyun was out there making his own moves—and that Tang Feng hadn’t given him any official appointment.
After learning that much, Ye Father lost interest and stopped digging.
But Ye Junwan still had that “Special Class Merit” citation stuck in her mind. Even though she didn’t know exactly what it meant.
She had a nagging feeling that this was no ordinary matter.
After mulling it over for several days, Ye Junwan noticed that Ye Shaohua and Tang Qiyun hadn’t been seen together again, and no further news about Tang Qiyun had surfaced. Only then did she finally let the matter drop.
Ye Shaohua had taken three days off, after which she went back to the research institute. This time, it was for a project of the highest classification: the hydrogen bomb.
She could only come home once every two weeks.
And even that was only because the institute was worried she’d work herself to exhaustion—they had specially arranged this break for her. In reality, most of the people there often went half a year without returning home.
As it happened, she also had a celebration banquet to attend.
In truth, given her status, most ordinary celebration banquets wouldn’t dare invite her—they were too afraid something might go wrong.
But this time was different. It concerned the future direction of their research, so Ye Shaohua agreed without much hesitation.
It just so happened to fall on her time off, and since Tang Qiyun seemed to be off on another mission, Ye Shaohua went ahead and accepted the invitation.
When she returned this time, she noticed that the atmosphere at the Ye household seemed a bit lighter than before.
“Second Miss, the Madam just sent word for you to come to the main hall for dinner,” Auntie Hong said, her face no longer carrying the same hint of pleasant surprise as before.
She knew that Ye Shaohua’s mother felt no guilt toward her whatsoever—if anything, she seemed slightly annoyed by her presence.
Treating Ye Shaohua like a dog on a leash, calling her to the main hall for dinner only when she was in a good mood.
Ye Shaohua was also curious about what had changed in the Ye household.
Since there was no reason to refuse, she went ahead to dinner.
When she arrived, the Ye family was already seated in high spirits, laughing and chatting together. That was when Ye Shaohua noticed that her eldest sister and her future brother-in-law—who was set to become the president of the largest bank—were also there.
But none of them paused their conversation when Ye Shaohua walked in. They just kept talking among themselves, lively and carefree.
Auntie Hong pressed her lips together, but Ye Shaohua didn’t mind at all.
She casually took a seat to the side, greeted her parents, and started eating.
Ye Junjin shot Ye Shaohua a sharp glance, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she held her tongue.
And Ye Junjin’s husband didn’t even bother to look at Ye Shaohua—not out of deliberate neglect, but simply because she wasn’t even on his radar.
Ye Junwan took in the reactions around the table, hid a smile behind her hand, and said, “Second Sister, your timing couldn’t be better. I have some good news to share with you. I’ve recently gotten acquainted with Young Master Jiang. When he learned my name, he actually invited me to a banquet hosted by his family, the Jiangs. This is great—now my sister, brother-in-law, and Third Brother’s problems can all be resolved.”
