When the two mothers saw Lin Fengyi and Lin Fengyu approaching, they immediately changed their attitude toward Zhang Yun'an, putting on smiles: "Fengyi, Fengyu, don't believe what Zhang Yun'an said. It's just the kids fooling around—they didn't really mean to bully Si Yi."
Lin Fengyu spoke first: "Although my sister-in-law may be a bit muddle-headed, she wouldn't bully a child for no reason. If your kids hadn't really bullied Si Yi and pushed her to the edge, how could she have said such things? Please watch your words, lest your own children hear and imitate you. If they cause trouble outside because they can't control their mouths, you'll regret it."
The two mothers hadn't expected that even Lin Fengyu, who had always disliked Zhang Yun'an, would clearly defend her in his words and even issue a warning. They couldn't afford to offend the Lin Family, especially since they were in the wrong to begin with. They could only force awkward smiles, utter a few placating words, and hurriedly drag their children away.
Seeing this, the other children, perhaps afraid of being left behind and beaten by Zhang Yun'an, also ran off in fright.
After everyone had left, Lin Fengyi explained to Zhang Yun'an why Lin Siyi had run out alone.
It turned out that her parents weren't home, Liu Yi had taken leave for personal matters, and only Lin Fengyi—who didn't work on Sundays—was at home. Lin Siyi had slipped out while she was in the kitchen cooking. It was only when Lin Fengyu came over to deliver something that they realized she was missing. When Lin Siyi ran out, she was still carrying the small backpack she used in kindergarten. Lin Fengyi guessed she must have wanted to find Zhang Yun'an.
Zhang Yun'an felt that Lin Fengyi really didn't need to explain all this to her. Given the original host's reputation in the Lin Family, no one would have cared what happened to Lin Siyi. Still, she nodded to show she understood.
Seeing this, Lin Fengyi added, "Sister-in-law, you probably haven't eaten yet. Why don't you come back with us for a meal?"
Zhang Yun'an didn't want to get more entangled with the Lin Family and naturally wouldn't go for a meal. Today, she had come on a whim, but fortunately, she had—otherwise, Lin Siyi would have been beaten.
"I've already eaten. I just happened to be passing by," she said, then handed the bag of Chicken Leg Bread to Lin Fengyi. "This smelled really good, so I bought some. Take it back to eat."
Lin Fengyu, standing nearby, looked at the bag of Chicken Leg Bread. Perhaps reminded of how Zhang Yun'an had once snatched bread from a child and even bumped her head, he couldn't help but snort with laughter. Only after Lin Fengyi tugged at him did he manage to stifle it.
Lin Fengyu was also surprised that Zhang Yun'an had bought so much bread for once, but if anyone expected him to change his opinion of her immediately, it clearly wouldn't be as easy as it was for Lin Fengyi.
On the surface, Zhang Yun'an acted as if nothing had happened, but inwardly she regretted buying the bread. Wasn't this just inviting others to laugh at her?
But it was too late for regrets. She pretended nonchalantly to withdraw her hand, wanting to put Lin Siyi down and leave quickly. Unexpectedly, Lin Siyi had latched onto her neck and wouldn't let go.
Zhang Yun'an thought to herself, "This is bad. I shouldn't have meddled—now I'm probably in trouble." Hurriedly, she tried to mimic the original host's tone: "Lin Siyi, let go."
But Lin Siyi didn't look at her, only clung tightly to her neck without loosening her grip.
Lin Fengyi glanced at Lin Siyi, the pitiful child who inwardly yearned desperately for her mother’s love but outwardly always pretended not to care, then looked at Zhang Yun’an for a moment—who genuinely seemed to be changing—before speaking somewhat guiltily: “Sister-in-law, Mom and Dad are both away on business, I have to work tomorrow, and Liu Yi has taken leave and won’t be back for a while. For now, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Siyi for a few days. Since you’re here, it saves me the trouble of taking him over.”
Without waiting for Zhang Yun’an’s reply, he told her to wait a moment, then hurried back home. He packed some of Lin Siyi’s clothes and toys, stuffed some money and snacks into the bag, and quickly ran back.
Zhang Yun’an and Lin Siyi remained in their previous positions, silently facing off where they stood. Lin Fengyi gently placed the bag at Zhang Yun’an’s feet, said, “Goodbye, Sister-in-law,” and then pulled Lin Fengyu—who was uneasy about leaving Lin Siyi in Zhang Yun’an’s care—away as they ran off.
Zhang Yun’an: …
“Lin Siyi.”
After a long silence, she had just called his name when Lin Siyi, who hadn’t uttered a word until then, suddenly spoke: “Didn’t you promise Grandpa and Grandma that you would take care of me yourself during the time before your divorce? Then take care of me until after you divorce. I promise I won’t bother you anymore after that.”
The original host had indeed threatened to take her own life to insist on taking Lin Siyi during the period before the divorce, but that was only to manipulate the Lin Family by winning over the child.
Naturally, Zhang Yun’an couldn’t say this to a child. In the end, she reluctantly replied: “I’m not very patient, as you should know, and I don’t know how to take care of children. If you insist that I look after you until your father returns, then during this time, you’ll have to take care of yourself—no crying or making a fuss. And one very important thing: you must not disturb me while I’m doing things. If you can’t manage these, I’ll send you back at any time.”
“I can do it,” Lin Siyi said. His tense body finally relaxed, and he slumped weakly against her shoulder, still maintaining his usual silence.
Seeing this, Zhang Yun’an sighed. She bent down to pick up the bag at her feet but noticed she still had the Chicken Leg Bread in her hand, which she hadn’t given to Lin Fengyi and the others. She called out toward the figures already running into the distance: “Fengyi, come back!”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing her, Lin Fengyi not only didn’t return but pulled Lin Fengyu along and ran even faster.
Zhang Yun’an felt speechless. She thought to herself that if she really didn’t want to take care of Lin Siyi, what good would running away do? Couldn’t she just bring him back herself? She comforted herself with the thought that she was just looking after someone else’s child for a while in exchange for rent.
When Zhang Yun’an returned to the Military Compound with Lin Siyi, she saw a lot of furniture placed downstairs in their building, along with several young soldiers in military uniforms moving the furniture.
The soldiers clearly paused for a moment when they saw her but quickly regained their composure. They nodded at her in greeting before carrying the furniture upstairs.
The original host didn’t know these people, so naturally, Zhang Yun’an didn’t either. She stood there for a while, planning to wait until they had moved the furniture upstairs before going up herself.
Just then, the door to Zhao Xiaoli’s house suddenly opened, and Zhao Xiaoli stepped out. She spotted them immediately and looked utterly astonished—she had never seen Zhang Yun’an voluntarily hold Lin Siyi before.
Surprise aside, she leaned in closer and whispered, "Zhang Yun'an, did you know? New neighbors have moved in next door to you—Deputy Regiment Commander Chang Tiejun's family. I heard his wife initially chose to stay in their hometown to care for his parents and was unwilling to accompany the army. But after visiting him recently, she suddenly agreed to accompany the army. Deputy Regiment Commander Chang isn't even thirty yet, and he's the eldest son in his family. Logically, his parents shouldn't be that old, and they're not sick or in any trouble. So, why would they need care? Do you think there might be another reason behind this?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yun'an looked up and indeed saw several soldiers carrying furniture up to the third floor.
However, she wouldn't be staying here much longer. To leave cleanly and ensure peace for everyone around her—even Lin Siyi, whom she didn’t want to feel any concern from her—she certainly wasn’t going to pry into the privacy of her neighbors, especially since they were all hoping for the "Scourge of the Compound" to get divorced.
The only neighbor in the compound she needed to interact with now was Zhao Xiaoli, who, despite being afraid of her, couldn’t resist her curiosity and hadn’t avoided her entirely.
The bedding she had washed earlier was now dry, and she planned to ask Zhao Xiaoli to help sew the quilt. She knew how to do needlework, but she simply didn’t have the time for it now.
"Comrade Zhao Xiaoli, are you free right now?"
Zhao Xiaoli had brought up the matter of Chang Tiejun's family partly because she was naturally curious about other people's affairs, and partly because Chang Tiejun's family seemed unlucky to be assigned next to the "Scourge of the Compound." She couldn’t help but worry for the new neighbors and wanted to gauge Zhang Yun'an's reaction to them, so she could offer some warnings in advance.
Now, hearing Zhang Yun'an's question, she guessed she might be asked to do another paid task and immediately set aside thoughts of the new neighbors. "Do you have more work for me?"
"Yes, I need your help sewing the bedding from last time."
"Alright, I won’t take advantage of you. For sewing the quilt, just give me twenty cents."
Zhang Yun'an put Lin Siyi down. He seemed to realize she wouldn’t send him back and finally let go of her hand.
She took out one yuan from her bag and handed it to Zhao Xiaoli.
Zhao Xiaoli accepted the money and gave her eighty cents in change.
But Zhang Yun'an didn’t take it. "Just charge me the same as last time."
"Alright then. Next time, if there’s more work, I’ll still charge you one yuan."
Although Zhao Xiaoli found Zhang Yun'an increasingly unusual, no one disliked money—especially someone like her, who had no job, came from an ordinary family, and whose husband held a relatively low military rank.
Before heading upstairs, she added, "It’s easier to sew a quilt with someone helping. Can I call Wan Dajie to assist me? Don’t worry, I won’t charge you extra."
"Why don’t you take the bedding downstairs to sew? My place is small, and I have other things to do. Sewing at home would require moving things around to make space—it’s too much trouble."
Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoli’s plan to subtly probe Zhang Yun'an’s thoughts with Wan Dajie fell through. But Zhang Yun'an had a point: when sewing quilts at home, it was common to take them outside, spread a few mats on the ground, and sew there. Doing it indoors was indeed inconvenient.
"Alright, I’ll go up with you to get it," Zhao Xiaoli said, even helping her carry the bag she had brought back upstairs.
Zhang Yun'an picked up Lin Siyi and headed upstairs, where she encountered the soldiers again on the staircase.
The two parties passed each other by, and one of the soldiers caught a glimpse of Zhang Yun'an's stunning profile from the corner of his eye. After Zhang Yun'an and Lin Siyi had gone upstairs, he lowered his voice and said to the slightly older soldier among them, "Now I finally understand why Deputy Regimental Commander Lin never took the initiative to file for divorce no matter how much she made a fuss. It's not just because of the life-saving favor."
The older soldier, however, said, "What do you know, kid? Judging people isn't just about looks; you have to consider their inner qualities too."
"You're right. When it comes to inner qualities, it's our sister-in-law who truly shines. Not only is she filial, but she's also presentable in the living room and skilled in the kitchen. Deputy Regimental Commander, marrying her was truly a blessing you earned from your past life."
"Hahaha, you rascal! Just for that, once your sister-in-law finishes handling matters back home and comes to accompany the army, I'll have her cook delicious meals for you all every day."
His hearty laughter echoed throughout the hallway, audible to everyone upstairs and downstairs.
Zhang Yun'an paid no attention to the new neighbors who had moved in next door. After Zhao Xiaoli left with the unfinished bedding, she gave Lin Siyi a Chicken Leg Bread and poured him a glass of water. She herself ate two and drank a glass of water, considering that a meal.
After eating, while fetching clothes for Lin Siyi, she discovered the money and snacks Lin Fengyi had left in the bag.
She took out the snacks and told Lin Siyi to help himself if he got hungry, but she left the money untouched in the bag. After that, she told him he could play or sleep as he wished, as long as he didn't disturb her.
With that settled, Zhang Yun'an went to the study to paint, though she left the door open to keep an eye on the child outside.
Lin Siyi remained quiet and well-behaved, leaning against the back of the living room sofa, silently watching Zhang Yun'an paint in the study.
Zhang Yun'an was so focused on her painting that she soon forgot there was a child in the living room.
After watching Zhang Yun'an for a while, Lin Siyi glanced at the leftover Chicken Leg Bread on the coffee table. As if struck by a thought, he reached into his pocket, pulled out ten yuan, and, holding the money, walked out the door.