Chapter 20: A Letter from Home

Ye Qing suddenly fell through the doorway, startling both Qin Ye and Doctor Yang.

Immediately afterward, an angry elderly woman stormed in, clutching a boy about Ye Qing’s height in her arms. She charged forward and cried out: “Doctor, please check on my grandson quickly!”

She paid no attention whatsoever to Ye Qing, who was still lying on the floor.

Qin Ye was furious. Ignoring Doctor Yang’s attempt to stop him, he reached out for the pair of crutches nearby, wedged them under his arms, and hopped toward the entrance. Even leaning on crutches, his tall figure radiated an imposing presence.

With a cold face, he bellowed: “Who are you? Get out!”

His shout exploded like thunder in Li Cuihua’s ears. She froze for a second, then stiffened her neck and said: “I-I’m a patient’s family member! What’s the matter?”

Her momentum had clearly faltered, and her feet kept retreating backward.

Who was this man? Even injured, his aura was downright terrifying!

Qin Ye hopped to Ye Qing’s side, bent down, and helped her up.

His voice softened dramatically, entirely different from just moments before. “Are you alright?”

Ye Qing shook her head. “I’m fine. This woman is Executive Secretary Sun’s mother. She’s a bit aggressive. I already witnessed it on the train.”

At that moment, Doctor Yang had finished checking the boy and spoke coldly: “Register first. Then go queue at the back!”

Li Cuihua, thick-skinned as ever, tried to argue: “My grandson has a stomachache.”

Doctor Yang turned to look at Li Lan. “Nurse Li, what are you doing standing there? Get her out of here! It’s just a stomach upset. Does that really warrant such yelling and screaming?”

Li Lan had just been slapped earlier, and no one had come to comfort her. Not even Qin Ye spared her a glance. She was already feeling aggrieved. Upon hearing Doctor Yang’s words, her expression darkened even more.

“Queue in the back! Register first! Keep yelling and I’ll have security throw you all out!”

Li Cuihua glared at her, then turned her glare toward Ye Qing. But when she caught sight of the man standing behind Ye Qing, she swallowed whatever she was about to say. She muttered under her breath: “Isn’t it just because she’s relying on a man? Hussy!”

Qin Ye’s brows furrowed. “What did you say? Say it again!”

His overwhelming presence pressed down on her so forcefully she couldn’t even lift her head. Li Cuihua felt a chill run from the back of her neck straight down her spine. Her entire body froze instantly.

She dared not speak another word and turned around, holding the child as she followed Li Lan to register—still muttering curses about Liu Qinglian being useless along the way.

The nurse was still waiting to give Qin Ye his injection!

Everything had already been prepared, and she had only been waiting for Doctor Yang to come over. Left with no other choice, she began to treat his wound first.

Qin Ye wasn’t in a rush. He said to the nurse: “Please help her bandage her hand first. She pressed down on some glass shards—check if any glass is embedded in the flesh.”

The nurse smiled and took Ye Qing’s hand to disinfect it, then followed Qin Ye’s instructions to examine her palm for any shards.

She couldn’t help but say: “Regiment Commander Qin usually seems so intimidating, but I didn’t expect him to treat you so well! He’s a good man! Heh heh.”

Ye Qing blushed. “Don’t talk nonsense! I only got hurt because of him!”

The nurse chuckled and didn’t pursue the topic further. Instead, she said: “Nurse Li got slapped just now trying to stop that woman! That Li Cuihua is so uncivilized! She ought to be made to pay. That way, she’d learn her lesson.”

“Executive Secretary Sun is quite an honest man. How could he have such a mother? And his wife too—doesn’t even dare make a peep. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”

“Alright, don’t get your hand wet for the next few days.”

Ye Qing thanked the nurse, who then proceeded to administer Qin Ye’s injection.

After the nurse left, Qin Ye gently stroked her hand that had been injured by the explosion, his brows furrowing tightly. “You too—if she wanted to come in, just let her. Why try to stop her? Look what happened. You ended up suffering for it.”

Ye Qing gave a soft laugh. “It’s fine, just a minor injury. It’ll heal in a couple of days. You don’t know—she’s completely unreasonable.”

“When you mentioned earlier that you’d met her on the train, was that true?” Qin Ye hadn’t forgotten that part.

Ye Qing nodded and recounted what had happened on the train. Qin Ye frowned deeply as he listened.

“I heard she lives just ahead of us. Having someone like that as a neighbor—I’m afraid you’ll be wronged. Why don’t I apply to the unit and get us reassigned to another courtyard?”

Ye Qing shook her head. “Forget it! The kang bed is already set up, and all our things are unpacked. Moving again would be too troublesome. I’ll just try to avoid her from now on.”

“Besides, how big can the Family Compound be? If she wants to stir up trouble, she’ll find you no matter where you hide. I don’t look for trouble, but I’m not afraid of it either. Today I was just caught off guard. Don’t worry, I won’t let her bully me again.”

Qin Ye gave a slight shake of his head but didn’t insist further.

Around ten o’clock in the morning, Gao Hao arrived again, holding a letter in his hand.

“Sister-in-law, your letter. There was no one at your place, so I brought it here.”

Ye Qing accepted the letter and paused for a moment, then opened the envelope. As she read, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Qin Ye couldn’t help but ask: “Who’s it from?”

Ye Qing handed him the letter. “It’s from my older sister. Something happened at home. She said my mother asked for the address of the army unit—I’m afraid they’ll be writing to me soon too.”

“I’m not afraid for myself. I’m just worried they’ll start harassing you.”

Qin Ye quickly skimmed through the contents. A cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “If you’re not afraid, then I’m even less so. Don’t worry about me. But your sister-in-law’s child was lost because of all this. Aren’t you afraid you’ll really never be able to return home again?”

Ye Qing shook her head helplessly. “What’s the use of being afraid? Am I really supposed to let them sell me off again? My life belongs to me. If it comes to it, I just won’t go back to that house. Father’s gone anyway—there’s no one there I still miss.”

By the end of her sentence, her voice had clearly lost a bit of its strength. Wasn’t her sister Ye Lan someone she missed? Though Ye Lan was a fierce fighter, even she couldn’t withstand the torment of that blood-sucking family.

Forget it, no point thinking about it. One step at a time.

Overhearing their private conversation, Gao Hao suddenly felt it was dangerous to be around, and quickly picked up the kettle to fetch hot water.

Ye Qing soaked a towel and handed it to Qin Ye. “Now I only have you and Nannan left. Don’t you go thinking I’m easy to bully and start taking advantage.”

Qin Ye’s broad, well-defined hand took the towel and began carefully wiping his freshly-injected arm. He also wiped his face and arm, the movements making his muscles ripple with strength and tension.

He didn’t respond to Ye Qing’s words directly. Instead, as she reached to take the towel back, he pulled her into his arms, his strong arm wrapping tightly around her slender waist.

He said: “You’re my wife, the mother of my child. How could I bully you? Don’t worry. With me here, no one will ever bully you again.”

Just as Gao Hao re-entered, he witnessed the scene and nearly gouged his eyes out from the sight. Better not come here too often!

He quickly set down the kettle and dashed off.

Ye Qing playfully slapped Qin Ye’s hand away. “Watch your behavior! What if someone sees? How embarrassing would that be?”

Qin Ye chuckled without care. “That kid Gao Hao? Don’t worry. Better he sees it—it might teach him something. Otherwise, he’ll stay single forever.”

Outside the door, Li Lan happened to catch the scene through the glass panel. She stomped her foot and ran off.

Li Cuihua was right after all—she really was a hussy! Grabbing and clinging to a man in broad daylight—what kind of example was that!