Chapter 11 – Kicked by Qin Lie

“You’re not going to ask me?”

After leaving from An Minglang’s place, the three members of An Minghua’s family headed toward Wutong Lane. On the way, An Minghua asked Qin Lie.

“No.” Qin Lie replied as he held Ping’an’s hand, walking in step with him. When he heard her question, he turned to look at An Minghua, and the tenderness in his gaze softened even the sharp lines of his phoenix eyes. “If Hua Hua wants to talk, I’ll listen. If she doesn’t want to, then I won’t ask.”

As long as you’re safe and sound, nothing else matters.

An Minghua was touched. Qin Lie, this man—when he was younger, he was so good-looking that even little boys used to chase him just to touch his face. Because of that, he always kept a stern face. As he grew older and spent years in the army, his entire being had become steeped in a raw, unyielding hardness.

Now, this iron-blooded man was showing tenderness. Who could possibly resist that?

An Minghua blinked rapidly. Anyway—she couldn’t resist!

Wutong Lane, Qin Residence

He Cuizhi was at home rolling out noodles. Before Qin Lie and An Minghua came back, they had sent a telegram to the house. Qin Zhao, who worked at the train station, knew exactly when their train would arrive.

So, today, He Cuizhi had gone out to buy meat and came back to make noodles. Dumplings when you leave, noodles when you return—it was tradition.

“Qin Muhan, go check the end of the alley. See if your Little Uncle and your Little Aunt are back yet!”

He Cuizhi gave Qin Muhan’s arm a light slap. “What’s with you, young man? Walking around every day with that gloomy face—where’s your spirit?”

She was full of that frustration parents felt when their children didn’t live up to expectations. A person should be able to take things up and put them down. Qin Lie didn’t die, the plans didn’t succeed—so be it!

Life still had to go on. It wasn’t like things were bad now. Why make such a scene?

“Got it.”

Qin Muhan replied, but his feelings were complicated. His Little Uncle had survived, and that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

If things had gone just a little differently, he would have married Minghua by now.

With mixed emotions, he stepped outside. With Little Uncle around, Minghua would never spare him another glance…

“Ah!”

Bang!

Qin Muhan suddenly felt a force strike his abdomen. Before he could react, he was already flat on the ground.

Pain shot through his stomach. He couldn’t help but cry out. When he looked up, he saw his Little Uncle—one hand holding Ping’an, the other arm wrapped around Minghua.

Qin Lie was lowering his head and asking Minghua: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

An Minghua shook her head.

Just a moment ago, the three of them were chatting. Ping’an was telling his dad about the Air Force Uncle he’d met on the train. As they turned the corner of the alley, An Minghua had nearly bumped into someone.

Before she could even see who it was, the person had already gone flying.

Qin Lie had seen clearly. It was Qin Lie who had lifted his foot and kicked.

After seeing clearly who Qin Lie had kicked, An Minghua didn’t even spare him a glance. She frowned and glared at Qin Lie.

“The doctor forbade you from intense activity!”

“It was just lifting a foot.” Qin Lie coaxed her. “Doesn’t even count as exercise.”

He looked at Qin Muhan, who was still lying on the ground. His brow pressed downward, and the sharpness in his eyes became even more oppressive.

“Did I kick you to death? Get up.”

An Minghua also felt that Qin Muhan was overacting. Given Qin Lie’s current condition, how much could that kick possibly hurt?

There was a trace of disdain in her eyes.

The male lead… just this?

Qin Muhan felt like he was dying from the pain! But ever since he was young, he had been instinctively afraid of Qin Lie—it was practically a conditioned reflex by now. He scrambled up awkwardly.

“Little Uncle, Ming—Little Aunt, you’re back.”

Qin Lie responded with a short “Mm.”

“Watch where you’re walking.”

The Qin family lived at the very end of Wutong Lane. Just as they entered the courtyard, Qin Mianmian came running out to greet them.

“Little Uncle, Little Aunt! Ping’an, hurry and let Sister hug you. Did you miss me?”

“Of course I did. I even brought you something tasty!”

Qin Mianmian carried Ping’an off to play. From the kitchen, He Cuizhi also came out to welcome them.

“You’re back, that’s good! Come in, quickly! Qin Lie, you really scared us all this time!”

“Muhan, what’s wrong with you?” She caught sight of Qin Muhan behind them, clutching his stomach and looking pale.

“Did you eat something bad?”

“No, Sister-in-law.” Qin Lie replied calmly. “He wasn’t watching where he was going and I gave him a kick.”

“He deserved it.” He Cuizhi immediately looked away, thinking her son was being dramatic. He was a grown man now—what was the point of making such a scene over a single kick?

Now that Qin Lie was fine, the idea of him marrying Minghua was clearly out of the question. The family should focus on this year’s military recruitment and send Muhan into the army.

“A few more kicks wouldn’t hurt either!”

While she was still talking, Qin Zhao returned from work. Upon seeing Qin Lie, the stern man’s eyes reddened slightly.

“Did Minghua come back with you this time?”

“She did. The application to accompany the army has already been submitted.” Qin Lie nodded and went with Qin Zhao into the inner room to talk.

“Minghua.” He Cuizhi watched the two brothers walk away and whispered,

“Once you’re there, make Qin Lie do all the heavy lifting and tiring chores. As for washing clothes and dishes—anything involving cold water—make him do those too!”

“He already does them, Sister-in-law.” An Minghua said matter-of-factly. “If I try to do them, he gets mad. He’s always been like this since we were little.”

He Cuizhi: “……”

“Little Aunt!” Qin Mianmian was playing at the doorway with Ping’an when she suddenly shouted,

“Someone’s looking for you!”

Looking for me?

An Minghua had a clear understanding of her own social circle. As she always said—she felt like she was in a dream, so she had never seriously made friends.

She walked out in a daze, only to see Qi Beiguo grinning widely at the doorway, while at the entrance of the alley, Xie Yutang cautiously poked her head out halfway.

“You two? What are you doing here?”

“Sister An, your little brother’s wedding is finally happening.” Qi Beiguo was still leaning on his crutch, beaming with joy. “We’re planning to head back to the capital tomorrow. Yutang was thinking about you, so we came to say goodbye.”

An Minghua couldn’t help teasing him.

“That was fast! Congratulations, congratulations!”

“You head to the end of the alley first. You two wait for me a moment!”

Since there was going to be a wedding, a gift was in order.

An Minghua jogged back into the house to rummage through her suitcase—though in reality, she retrieved from her spatial storage a bright red bedding set she had bought in Guangcheng.

She didn’t see Qin Muhan stepping out of the west wing room, his face ashen, as he pushed the door open and strode straight outside—

Xie Yutang is getting married?

How dare she? On what grounds does she think she can?!

Not to mention, given the current state of the Xie family, who would even dare marry her?

In the alley, Qi Beiguo was shuffling along slowly with his crutch. Xie Yutang hesitated, then ran over to support him.

“Slow down!”

Seeing the concern in her eyes, Qi Beiguo smiled more foolishly than ever.

“Tangtang, now that you’ve finally agreed to marry me, I can’t slow down.”

“You don’t have to worry about my parents. I’ve picked out a good place for their reassignment—Lehe City’s Reclamation Farm. The director there was my father’s comrade-in-arms, we’re supposed to call him Uncle Liang. With him quietly watching over things—”

“Xie Yutang!”

A furious voice cut off Qi Beiguo’s whispering. Xie Yutang’s expression froze for a moment. As expected—just what she was afraid of, Qin Muhan had shown up.

The two of them turned to see Qin Muhan approaching with a stormy expression, eyes brimming with anger and contempt as he glared at them.

“Xie Yutang, you’ve really sunk lower and lower. The engagement in Beijing was canceled and now you’re marrying a cripple?”

Engagement in the capital?

Qi Beiguo was stunned for a moment. Wasn’t he the one engaged to Tangtang in Beijing? When was the engagement canceled?

But in the next moment, he was furious—how dare someone call Tangtang lowly?

“Qin Muhan, watch your mouth!” Xie Yutang’s pretty face turned red with rage.

“The man you’re calling a cripple was injured while defending our country. What right do you have to insult him?”

At the side, Qi Beiguo took two steps forward on his crutch. Once he was close enough to Qin Muhan, he let go of the crutch with his right hand—and swung a punch straight at him!

“My wife is lowly? And what the hell do you think you are?!”