Chapter 7: Qin Ye Returned

Qin Ye was from Beijing. His father was a Commander in a certain military district, and his mother worked as a doctor in a major hospital in Beijing. His older brothers and sisters were all impressive people.

She had regretted it so much! And then, she fell ill again! This time, she never got up.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back to the time when she had just arrived at her aunt and uncle’s house. Her aunt was bustling around, helping her get ready to start working at the Military Hospital!

She was so shocked she couldn’t react for a long while. Once she confirmed that she had been reborn, she made a firm decision that in this life, she would cling tightly to Qin Ye, this towering tree!

Who would have thought, instead of waiting for her uncle to introduce her to a suitor, she ended up meeting Qin Ye’s ex-wife.

Oh, no! She couldn’t even be called an ex-wife yet. They hadn’t divorced, and the woman wasn’t even dead! She had never dreamed she would run into Qin Ye’s rural wife today!

Everyone said that Qin Ye marrying a rural wife was a huge loss. But in Li Lan’s eyes, this woman wasn’t so bad—at least her face was pretty enough to make her jealous.

Seeing her zoning out, Sun Min nudged her arm. “Sister Lan, what are you thinking about?”

Li Lan snapped out of it right away. “Oh, you two go ahead. I was just about to get dinner from the canteen! I got off late. Not sure if there’s still any food left.”

With that, she quickly ran off.

Watching Li Lan’s retreating figure, Ye Qing could almost feel what she was thinking.

In the book, Li Lan was the Reincarnator, which was how she managed to capture Qin Ye so quickly. In her past life, she herself had never shown up—perhaps seeing a living, breathing version of her had left Li Lan stunned.

Shaking her head, she took Nannan and returned to the hostel.

For several days in a row, either Gao Hao came to check on her, or Sun Min dragged her around the area.

Until the evening of the fifth day, when Gao Hao arrived with a tall man following behind him. With just one glance, Ye Qing recognized him!

Qin Ye!

Even though she couldn’t recall exactly what Qin Ye’s facial features looked like, she still retained the Original Owner’s memories. She recognized him at first sight.

He was tall and upright, and though he was wrapped in a military uniform, the defined lines of his body were still vaguely visible. His features looked as if they had been meticulously carved—every part perfectly proportioned, yet unlike today’s generic-looking “Little fresh meat” types, his face had distinct character.

Qin Ye exuded masculinity from head to toe, the kind of presence that made it impossible to look away.

A man like this was certainly eye-catching. She had to admit—Su Fang had quite an eye!

Seeing the two of them frozen in place, Gao Hao hurried to smooth things over. “Sister-in-law, why aren’t you saying anything now that you’ve met Regiment Commander Qin? Nannan, this is your dad.”

Nannan tilted her head and studied Qin Ye. Her soft, childish voice was laced with uncertainty. “Are you really my dad?”

When Qin Ye had first heard that Ye Qing had brought a child, he hadn’t believed it. He never imagined that one reckless night could result in a child!

But now, staring at the little one on the ground whose facial features mirrored his own so closely, he was immediately convinced. This is my daughter! No doubt about it!

He felt like his whole heart had melted.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before. His hard, cold heart seemed to suddenly melt into a pool of spring water—warm and gentle.

He couldn’t help but crouch down so he was eye-level with the little girl. He deliberately softened his voice and asked: “Your name is Nannan? How old are you?”

Nannan’s big eyes sparkled. “My name is Qin Yuhan. My nickname is Nannan. I’m two and a half years old.”

Seeing her little face, not even as big as his palm, Qin Ye’s heart suddenly ached.

He stood up and looked at Ye Qing, his voice no longer as gentle as before. “Why didn’t you let me know about her?”

Ye Qing was momentarily stunned. Upon seeing them, he didn’t ask if their journey was safe, didn’t ask how they had been all these years—he went straight to questioning why she hadn’t told him about the child?

So this is his attitude? It seemed he truly didn’t have any feelings for the Original Owner.

Ye Qing wasn’t afraid of him. She met his gaze and replied calmly: “You never asked either, did you?”

Qin Ye was speechless. That was true. Aside from sending money each month, he hadn’t written a single word. He had never asked how Ye Qing was doing, nor had it ever occurred to him that she might have had a child.

Nannan continued to look up at him, her head tilted. “Are you really my dad?”

Ye Qing bent down and picked her up, her voice gentle but firm as she said: “This man is your father. Nannan, greet him.”

Nannan obediently called out: “Daddy.” then asked: “Daddy, why do you never come see us? Other kids’ daddies are with them every day.”

Qin Ye didn’t know what to say. Seeing how awkward he looked, Gao Hao stepped forward, trying to help explain, but Qin Ye shot him a look. “This doesn’t concern you. Go on back.”

Gao Hao swallowed his words and eventually muttered: “Alright then. I’ll just leave the food container here.”

Nannan waved at him and said: “Thank you, Uncle Gao! Goodbye, Uncle!”

Gao Hao grinned. “You’re welcome. Our little Nannan is really polite!”

Pleased by the praise, Nannan replied seriously: “Mommy says, when others help us, we should say thank you.”

Qin Ye couldn’t help but nod inwardly. At least the child was being raised well! But she was way too skinny. Malnourished, maybe?

He took Nannan from Ye Qing’s arms and said to her: “Come on! Daddy’s taking you to eat. What would you like? I’ll buy you some meat, how about that?”

Nannan nodded eagerly. “Okay! Nannan loves meat the most! But Grandma never let me eat meat before, and Mommy either. But Mommy said eating meat helps you grow meat!”

Qin Ye felt another pang in his heart. Were the mother and daughter really treated differently at home? Nannan’s tiny body was so light—he could barely feel her weight in his arms.

Gao Hao had warned him earlier on the way over, but he hadn’t taken it seriously. After all, he had been sending living expenses every month. That was Ye Qing’s own mother—could she really bear to mistreat her own daughter?

But the past six months, his mission had been too special—he hadn’t been able to send any more money. Could it be that just six months without money had led that old woman to abuse them both?

He recalled the way she had forced him to marry Ye Qing, remembered her face when she asked him for money—disgust welled up from deep within him. Maybe it really wasn’t so unlikely.

Given Ye Qing’s weak personality—meek to the point of not being able to make a sound even if kicked—it wasn’t hard to believe she had been bullied.

There wasn’t any braised pork that night, just stir-fried pork with green peppers. Qin Ye ordered a portion and picked out all the pork strips, putting them into Nannan’s bowl.

But Nannan refused to eat. She picked up the pork and offered it to Ye Qing. “Mommy, eat the meat! Daddy bought us meat, Daddy’s so nice! Mommy, eat up!”

Qin Ye didn’t say anything. He turned around and went to get another serving of stir-fried pork with green peppers. This time, he picked out all the pork for Ye Qing and kept only the green peppers and a steamed bun for himself.

People passing by saw everything and whispered among themselves:

“Is that Regiment Commander Qin’s rural wife? I thought he didn’t care about her? Doesn’t look like it—he even brought them to the canteen to eat!”

“Yeah! Look, he got two meat dishes and gave all the pork to his wife and kid, eating just the vegetables himself. Regiment Commander Qin is actually a thoughtful, good man!”

“He usually looks so cold and scary. Who knew he’d be so tender with his wife! Hehe…”

Qin Ye frowned.

He hated gossip the most. Couldn’t even eat a meal in peace.