Chapter 17: Jiang Yue Was Getting More and More Used to Ordering Him Around

Jiang Yue made plain noodles. Because there were very few usable ingredients, she used the only seasonings available to prepare a simple soup, then fried two poached eggs. With that, breakfast was done.

“Dad, it smells so good!” Ningning sniffed eagerly.

When Jiang Yue came out holding the bowls, she saw Gu Ye tying up Ningning’s hair into small ponytails. His hands were bigger than Ningning’s head, yet he had to tug at the little girl’s already thin hair to make braids. Jiang Yue was genuinely worried he might yank all of Ningning’s hair out by accident.

“Gu Ye, go bring the noodles out. I’ll do Ningning’s hair!” Jiang Yue really couldn’t stand to watch anymore.

Yesterday when Jiang Yue saw Ningning, she already thought the little girl was a bit too thin, but still quite pretty. It was just those twin ponytails sticking up high that looked so outdated.

She admitted that Gu Ye was doing a very competent job as a Dad, but his hairstyling skills were just too embarrassing.

Hearing her words, Gu Ye’s large hands paused. He lifted his eyes to look at Jiang Yue, suddenly getting the feeling that in just two days, Jiang Yue seemed to be getting more and more used to bossing him around?

“Ningning, come here. Let me braid your hair, okay?” Jiang Yue set the bowl down and, without giving Gu Ye a chance to object, took the comb and hair ties from his hands.

Jiang Yue knew Gu Ye had a bias against her. She consciously reminded herself not to call herself Mom in front of Gu Ye and Ningning.

That wasn’t hard to do—after all, Jiang Yue wasn’t married and had no children. If she suddenly had to take on the identity of a Mom, she honestly wasn’t used to it!

The reason she had referred to herself as Mom twice yesterday was just to build favor with Gu Ye, the male lead.

But it had clearly backfired.

Gu Ye didn’t move. Jiang Yue understood that he didn’t feel comfortable leaving Ningning alone with her. She gave a cold sneer in her heart. She would prove herself with actions!

Whatever Jiang Yue set her mind to, she always succeeded in doing!

Ningning was quite intimidated by Jiang Yue. When Jiang Yue pulled her over, her little body visibly tensed up. She looked at Gu Ye, her big eyes full of apprehension.

Gu Ye gave her a slight nod, signaling that he was right there with her. Only then did Ningning dare to get close to Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue braided two centipede braids for Ningning, starting from the top of her head all the way to the ends, even using a four-strand technique. After tying them off with elastic bands, she had Ningning turn around and smiled in praise: “Ningning, you look so beautiful!”

Ningning reached out to touch her braids, eager to go look in the mirror and see how they turned out. But Jiang Yue held onto her, and since she hadn’t spoken yet, Ningning didn’t dare to leave.

“Go take a look in the mirror and see if you like it. If you don’t, we’ll try a different style!” Jiang Yue gently patted Ningning’s little head, smiling cheerfully, quite satisfied with her handiwork.

Back when she was a blogger making videos, she had learned all sorts of skills—never expected they’d come in handy now.

Ningning couldn’t wait to fetch the mirror from the room, so she ran straight to the water well and looked into the water in the basin. At first, she had been nervous, not knowing what kind of hairstyle Mom had given her. She was even a little worried that Mom might have made her look silly. But the moment she saw her reflection, the little girl grinned so wide her eyes nearly disappeared—she absolutely loved it.

“Ningning, do you like it?” Jiang Yue could already tell from her expression, but she still asked.

“Mhm! I like it!” Ningning answered shyly, her cheeks turning red.

Jiang Yue smiled. “As long as you like it!”

She turned her head and saw Gu Ye coming out of the kitchen, carrying two bowls of noodles.

“Alright, time for breakfast!” Jiang Yue waved to Ningning.

Ningning immediately ran over and sat down obediently, sneaking a couple of glances at Jiang Yue. Dad had told her that Mom had hit her head and had been acting strange lately. He warned her not to be fooled by how Mom seemed now, saying she might go back to her old self at any moment. 

But Ningning thought this version of Mom was really nice.

She made her yummy fries with ketchup and even gave her beautiful braids.

If Mom being so kind was because she hit her head, then Ningning wished Mom would hit her head every day!

Jiang Yue had no idea that Ningning was secretly wishing for her to keep bumping her head. She just felt a sudden chill down her spine for no reason.

Each of them had a bowl of noodles. Gu Ye’s was still the largest, but there were only two poached eggs.

One was, of course, for Ningning. Jiang Yue looked at the remaining egg and started wondering whether she should put on a show for Gu Ye’s sake.

Even though they had just argued the night before, and she had secretly cursed him as a bastard just half an hour ago, Jiang Yue now needed to rely on Gu Ye’s Male Lead Halo to keep herself alive. So she figured she should let go of past grievances and try to curry favor with him.

Besides, she felt that Gu Ye was so upright, he probably wouldn’t accept it anyway. So in the end, the egg would still end up in her stomach.

“You eat.”

Just as Jiang Yue was about to offer the poached egg to Gu Ye, she heard his calm and indifferent voice.

“Hmm?” Jiang Yue felt a sudden pang of guilt. She had guessed that Gu Ye wouldn’t fight her over the egg, but he spoke before she even opened her mouth, which made her seem petty and narrow-minded in comparison.

“How about this—we’ll each have half!” Jiang Yue used her chopsticks to break the poached egg in two, then picked the slightly larger half and placed it in Gu Ye’s bowl. “That way, all three of us get to eat some!”

“I’ll give Mom half of mine too!” Ningning, copying what she saw, also tried to offer her poached egg to Jiang Yue.

“No need! Ningning is still growing, so you should eat it yourself!” Jiang Yue was deeply touched—this must be the magic of fries and ketchup at work!

Gu Ye hadn’t expected Jiang Yue to give him half of her poached egg. A strange look flickered in his lowered eyes. What surprised him even more was that Ningning had wanted to share her egg with Jiang Yue. In the past, Ningning had been so afraid of her that she could barely speak.

After breakfast, Gu Ye tidied up and got ready to head out to the unit. He called Ningning: “Let’s go!”

Jiang Yue knew Gu Ye was going to drop Ningning off at Li Hongying’s house.

Actually, winning favor with Gu Ye was simple—just be good to Ningning and take care of her well. But for now, Jiang Yue wouldn’t bring it up herself. At least not until Gu Ye let go of his prejudice against her. Otherwise, he’d just think she was scheming something again.

Just before Gu Ye stepped out, Jiang Yue called after him.

“Gu Ye, don’t forget to tell Li Hongying that she doesn’t need to come over anymore!”

Gu Ye turned around. His striking phoenix eyes were deep and shadowed, silently locked on Jiang Yue.

“Alright.” he replied.

Every time Gu Ye looked at her like that, Jiang Yue’s heart would skip a beat, her blood practically igniting. No matter how much she grumbled about him in her head, she couldn’t deny it—Gu Ye was just too handsome.

After watching Gu Ye and Ningning walk off and disappear down the path, Jiang Yue went back inside to change her clothes. She made sure to remind herself to bring her ration coupons and money, then slung a basket over her shoulder and headed out too. She was going to the market to buy groceries.

At that moment, Gu Ye had brought Ningning to Li Hongying’s house. Xiao Zhang’s car was already there, and both Regiment Commander Zhao and Commander Cui were inside, waiting for him.

Just as Li Xiuxiu came out, Gu Ye handed Ningning over to her and also asked her to tell Li Hongying that she no longer needed to come over to clean or cook.

Li Xiuxiu responded with her head lowered. Only after Gu Ye got in the car and left did she lift her head to glance in his direction, a shy look in her eyes.

Then, Li Xiuxiu went home and told Li Hongying what had happened. Li Hongying exploded on the spot.

“What? He said I don’t need to go over there anymore to clean or cook? He said it himself? That won’t do!”