Chapter 8: Dressed in an Old Military Uniform

Ye Qing was stunned for a moment. What did he mean by that?

He used to ignore them completely, and now a few pieces of meat could win her over? Or was it that after seeing Nannan, he suddenly felt guilty toward the mother and daughter?

She didn’t need this kind of sympathy! Her lips moved slightly as she said: “You don’t have to do this. I won’t fuss over such a small matter.”

Qin Ye lifted his head and glanced at her. “Eat more. You and Nannan are both too thin. I don’t want others to think I’ve been mistreating you.”

Ye Qing: ……

In this era, it was common to give the best food to the child and leave the leftovers for oneself—how did that count as mistreatment? Then what kind of life had she been living before?

Wouldn’t that be a life worse than a pig or dog? Hmm… it did seem like that!

Ye Qing didn’t say anything more. She lowered her head and quietly finished her meal.

After they finished eating, Qin Ye sent them back to the hostel. But instead of leaving, he sat down and looked at Ye Qing, asking: “What are your plans for bringing Nannan here this time?”

His gaze was deep and unreadable.

If he had been furious—outraged, even—when first tricked by Su Fang and her daughter, over the past three years, that anger had mostly dissipated.

Now, seeing Nannan, the hard stone in his chest softened in an instant. This woman, after all, was the child’s birth mother. If she was willing, he was open to living a good life together.

By asking her like this, he was handing the initiative to Ye Qing.

Based on what he knew about the mother and daughter, Ye Qing was probably forced to come here by Su Fang to ask for money. After all, he hadn’t sent money home for half a year.

If that was really the case, then he intended to divorce Ye Qing and take custody of Nannan himself. That way, he wouldn’t feel wronged, and Ye Qing could remarry without being held back.

To his surprise, Ye Qing said: “I ran away secretly this time. I can’t go back to my family. If you can accept us, we’ll stay here with you as part of the military community. But if you still hold a grudge, we’ll divorce, and I’ll take Nannan and leave.”

“Don’t worry, no matter where we are, I can take care of Nannan on my own. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Her eyes were bright, full of confidence and certainty. She was nothing like the Ye Qing he used to know, and that stirred something in his heart.

Her answer made him secretly breathe a sigh of relief: she wasn’t here for money, nor to demand a divorce. That was good!

If she was truly willing to live with him from now on, then for the child’s sake, he was willing to accept her.

Qin Ye frowned. “What kind of talk is that? You’re my wife. Nannan is my child. How could I not accept you two? If you don’t mind the hardship here, I’ll go apply right now to move you into the Family Compound.”

Nannan clung to Qin Ye’s leg and asked: “Daddy, can we really stay here now? Stay with Daddy forever?”

Qin Ye crouched down and lifted her into his arms. “Yes! As long as Nannan wants to, Daddy will always be with you. I’ll raise you to be chubby and healthy!”

Then he turned to Ye Qing and said: “Don’t worry. There’s a nursery class, a primary school, even a middle school here. Nannan can go to school if she stays. I won’t let either of you suffer.”

His gaze had softened. The coldness from earlier was completely gone.

Ye Qing nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you. I know what my family did was wrong, but please trust me—moving forward, I am me, and they are them.”

Qin Ye was a little surprised. He looked her up and down and then nodded. “Get some rest. I’ll come again tomorrow morning.”

Watching his tall figure leave, Ye Qing felt a mix of emotions she couldn’t quite name.

To be honest, the man was truly good-looking—worthy of being the male lead in a book. And he was responsible, too. Even after everything, even if he had been wronged, he had still sent living expenses every month for her and the child.

But between them, that incident still loomed like a shadow—could he truly accept her from the bottom of his heart?

Maybe the original owner of this body didn’t care about love, but Ye Qing, who came from the 21st century, still longed for it!

There was no helping it. Even though she wouldn’t starve if she left him, life would be extremely hard. She had already worked herself to death once—she didn’t want to die from exhaustion a second time.

Besides, lacking a father’s love might not be a good thing for Nannan either.

Then she might as well stay. If life here truly became unbearable, she could leave later. By then, Nannan would be a little older, and once she herself had gained a firm footing, life wouldn’t be so tough anymore.

People under another’s roof have no choice but to bow their heads. With that thought, she fell asleep.

……

Meanwhile, Li Lan lay on her small bed, thoughts swirling in her mind.

Qin Ye had returned! Word had it that the moment he came back, he went straight to the hostel to see Ye Qing. He even took his wife and child to the canteen for dinner—many people saw it.

What shocked her even more was that Qin Ye reportedly ordered two meat dishes, picked out all the meat for his wife and child, and only ate vegetables himself.

That wasn’t how it was in her previous life! In her last life, Qin Ye had a heart as hard as stone. No matter how many people tried to set him up with someone, he always refused. No one knew if it was because he missed his deceased wife or feared his child being wronged.

The daughter of the Division Commander had chased after him for over two years, and he never once gave her a smile. Later, when that girl went off to university, she disappeared from his life for good.

But in this life, things were even more baffling. Not only had that woman come to the military unit, but Qin Ye was also treating her so well!

What’s worse—her aunt came to talk to her today. Her uncle wanted to introduce her to someone: a Deputy Battalion Commander. She was asked if she wanted to meet him.

She was not willing! She had been reborn—wasn’t she supposed to live out the script of a female lead? Why couldn’t she have the best man?

What was so great about that rural woman? Vulgar, ignorant—and wasn’t her only asset just a pretty face?

Frustrated and indignant, she drifted off to sleep and again had that strange dream.

In the dream, it wasn’t her who married Li Qiang, but Zhao Qingmei. In the dream, she successfully married Qin Ye. Qin Ye treated her wonderfully. They were the model couple of the military compound, and everyone envied her.

She gave birth to a son and a daughter for Qin Ye. They returned to Beijing together and lived a life of wealth and happiness, blessed with every joy.

……

Early the next morning, Qin Ye arrived. Besides breakfast, he also brought with him an old military uniform.

He handed the uniform to Ye Qing and said: “The clothes you’re wearing are already too worn out. It’s not time to go into the city yet, so if you don’t mind, wear this for now. When we go into town, I’ll buy you a new outfit.”

Ye Qing looked down—indeed, the clothes she wore were no longer serviceable. Already patched layer upon layer, and after being washed a bit too vigorously these past few days, even the seams where the patches were stitched had started to tear.

She held the uniform up and sized it against herself—it fit perfectly! This was clearly an old military uniform, so how could it be exactly her size? Could it be… he had a female confidante here?

Was this borrowed from another woman? But that wasn’t in the book at all!

No… wait! The inside of the sleeve clearly showed signs of recent alteration.

Qin Ye saw her inspecting it and didn’t hide anything: “This was resized from one of my own uniforms. Try it on. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll have someone adjust it again.”

Ye Qing froze for a moment. He had only returned yesterday, and it had been late when he got back. When did he find time to alter the uniform?

She looked at him helping Nannan get dressed, busy and attentive. Her heart warmed—she had to admit, this felt… pretty good.

Qin Ye turned and saw her still standing there in a daze. “Why haven’t you changed yet? Breakfast will get cold. Hurry up.”

Ye Qing blinked, then her cheeks flushed with heat. Change now? He was still standing right there! Was he going to just watch her take her clothes off?