Wen Zhile accompanied Fang Xiuxiu to park their bicycles and then walked into the inn together.
She didn’t glance toward the roadside.
Zhou Jihuai, however, took a look at the inn’s name, but the traffic light turned green at that moment, and he drove away shortly after.
When he went to knock on the door, Wen Shuren and Shu Ying had just returned home.
Zhou Jihuai didn’t beat around the bush. He straightforwardly mentioned that Wen Nuan wanted to stay overnight at a male classmate’s house, and only after saying that did he add that Qu Jinghong was also there.
Shu Ying frowned slightly. After seeing him off, she took a deep breath and said, “Our parenting has been a failure.”
Wen Shuren poured her a cup of warm water. “We’ve taught her everything we should, but Nuan Nuan has always listened in front of us and forgotten behind our backs.”
In the past, they would have simply thought they hadn’t taught her well enough, but now they couldn’t help but wonder more.
Shu Ying absentmindedly accepted the cup.
“Could it be that Nuan Nuan has known about her identity all along?”
Although the matter they had asked their eldest brother to investigate had not yet yielded any conclusions, Shu Ying and Wen Shuren already had a judgment in their hearts: Dai Zhi was very likely their daughter.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the investigation results and check for the birthmark.
The location of the birthmark was somewhat private, and Shu Ying was afraid that bringing it up abruptly might scare Wen Zhile, which was why she hadn’t mentioned it.
Wen Shuren’s expression darkened as he recalled some things.
Over the years, his cousin had often brought her child to their home, claiming it was a visit, but in reality, it was to take things back with her. However, she never said it outright; most of the time, she would have her son, Dai Guangzong, cry and complain about being hungry.
Out of gratitude for the Dai Family’s risk in raising their child, they would give them some food and clothes they no longer wore.
But in thirteen years, she had never once brought her daughter along.
Given how harsh the Dai Family was toward their daughter, they should have prioritized bringing her along to kneel and cry for help.
The more he thought about it, the more doubts from the past thirteen years rushed to the surface: In the first few years after bringing their daughter back, he and his wife were genuinely grateful and wanted to visit the Dai Family in the countryside during the New Year, but Nuan Nuan cried and screamed, refusing to let them go.
Later, when they saw the true character of the Dai Family, they gave up the idea.
Why didn’t Nuan Nuan want them to visit the Dai Family back then?
Wen Shuren slowly sat down on the sofa. “If she really knew in advance, that would be terrifying.”
“Xiao Dai, hurry up and try on the new clothes for me!”
Fang Xiuxiu pushed Wen Zhile toward the staircase, and Wen Zhile had no choice but to go upstairs.
Fang Xiuxiu then walked up to the front desk, took two bright red apples from the large red plastic bag she was carrying, and stuffed them into the hands of her colleague who was covering her shift.
“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll take the first half of the night shift tonight.”
She nudged her colleague out from behind the counter. “Go have your dinner. I’m not hungry, so let’s switch shifts now. You can come back for the second half of the night.”
Her colleague cheerfully declined out of politeness before taking her bag and leaving.
About ten minutes later, a military-green Jeep parked outside the inn. Its license plate started with Jing A, attracting the attention of many passersby out for a walk after dinner.
Zhou Jihuai sat in the car for a while, observing the entrance of Shuhai Inn. During that time, a burly man with a fierce-looking face entered the inn.
Watching him ascend the stairs, Zhou Jihuai thought for a few seconds before getting out of the car and walking inside.
Fang Xiuxiu instinctively glanced over.
He was wearing a finely textured black shirt today, with the top two buttons undone. His physique was clearly impressive, and his looks were exceptionally striking.
Fang Xiuxiu had never encountered a man like this in her social circle, and for a moment, she was stunned. It was only when he spoke to ask something that she snapped out of it. “What did you ask? Sorry, I didn’t catch that just now.”
Zhou Jihuai repeated calmly, “Is there a guest surnamed Wen staying here?”
Seeing his decent attire and mannerisms that didn’t suggest he was here for trouble, Fang Xiuxiu quickly produced the check-in register. “None of the guests I’ve handled have the surname Wen. Let me check my colleagues’ records for you.”
“Sis Xiuxiu, I’m changed!” Wen Zhile’s voice arrived before she did.
Zhou Jihuai turned his face and met her smiling expression.
He recalled how Wen Zhile had looked when she stopped his car in Jianghe Village and compared it to her now.
He realized she had changed significantly.
“No need to look.”
“Xiao Dai, I told you it would look good on you!”
Two voices spoke simultaneously. Zhou Jihuai glanced at Wen Zhile. “Xiao Dai?”
Wen Zhile blinked, unsure how to explain.
Well… she’d leave it for now.
A pleasant surprise lit up her face. “Comrade Zhou? Are you staying at the hotel too?”
She hurried to the front desk. “Sis Xiuxiu, I’ll cover his room fee.”
Fang Xiuxiu’s eyes widened.
She couldn’t connect Wen Zhile and Zhou Jihuai together.
Zhou Jihuai nodded. “I’ll pay myself. Give me a registration form.”
With an ill-intentioned stranger at home, he had planned not to return after going out anyway.
“Alright then.” Wen Zhile didn’t argue with him.
She watched Zhou Jihuai fill out the form before speaking. “Have you had dinner? I promised to treat you. If you haven’t eaten, I’ll take you out tonight.”
Zhou Jihuai said, “I haven’t.”
He’d been stared at throughout the meal until he lost his appetite.
“Let’s go then. Sis Xiuxiu, come along too!”
“I’ll pass.” Having just witnessed Zhou Jihuai’s expressionless demeanor up close, Fang Xiuxiu noticed his features relax slightly after Wen Zhile appeared.
Unclear about their relationship, she declined.
“I’ve swapped shifts with a colleague and need to man the desk. Just bring me something to eat when you return.”
“I’ll wait for you in the car.” Not wanting to stand there listening to their conversation, Zhou Jihuai left these words and walked out.
After noting Fang Xiuxiu’s dietary restrictions, Wen Zhile returned to her room for money before heading out moments later.
Zhou Jihuai sat in the driver’s seat watching the hotel entrance, rhythmically tapping the steering wheel.
He had a trait: he only showed warmth to those he considered his own.
Children raised in military compounds all carried pride, and Zhou Jihuai, the most exceptional among them, possessed it in abundance.
Though he excelled at restraint, patience was where he consistently fell short.
So far, Wen Zhile was the first girl he’d patiently waited to have a meal with. The reason lay in how he now perceived her—not as a stranger.
She was the rare girl he’d taken pity on and saved, akin to the badly injured puppy he rescued as a child, barely qualifying as one of his own.
Wen Zhile rushed toward the jeep. As she approached, the passenger door swung open, and she climbed in. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Comrade Zhou! Where would you like to eat?”
Zhou Jihuai instructed her to fasten her seatbelt before starting the engine.
About ten minutes later, the vehicle turned into an alley and stopped before a Siheyuan.
Wen Zhile followed him out and heard his amused remark: “You didn’t even ask where we were going along the way. Weren’t you afraid I’d sell you off?”
She chuckled. “If you wanted to sell me, you’d have done it on the way to the city. Besides, I wouldn’t fetch much with this little meat on me.”
Zhou Jihuai knocked six times on the wooden gate. “Quite self-aware.”
The wooden door opened, revealing a bespectacled man in his thirties standing inside. “Battalion Commander, you’re here! What would you like to eat today?”
He then noticed Wen Zhile following behind, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.
Zhou Jihuai turned to Wen Zhile. “Follow me.”
He then looked back and said, “This is my sister. The usual for me, let her order the rest. Make her a fresh juice.”
“Right away!”
The Siheyuan had many winding paths. Wen Zhile closely followed Zhou Jihuai, twisting and turning through the corridors until they entered a spacious, elegantly furnished room with a natural wood-colored table and chairs.
Zhou Jihuai led her to sit down, and the young man brought over a handwritten menu.
Wen Zhile ordered two homestyle dishes.
“Alright then, Battalion Commander, please make yourselves comfortable. I’ll head to the kitchen to cook.”
Yu Qi took the menu and left, closing the door behind him.
Only then did Wen Zhile speak up. “I’d like a soda. Can I have one, Brother?”
Zhou Jihuai raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead, little sister.”
In the corner of the room were several bottles of orange Arctic Ocean Soda. Wen Zhile immediately ran over, grabbed two bottles, and placed one in front of Zhou Jihuai.
“I really am surnamed Wen—I didn’t lie to you.” She knew Zhou Jihuai was waiting for an explanation. This matter needed to be clarified, or it would seem like she had deceived him despite his kindness.
Wen Zhile picked up her chopsticks, attempting to pry open the soda bottle.
Seeing her struggle, Zhou Jihuai reached over, took the bottle, and with a focused flex of his arm muscles, the cap popped off with a crisp sound. “Go on.”
Since she fell under the category of “one of his own,” Zhou Jihuai needed to get to the bottom of this.
Wen Zhile was astonished by his strength. She took a sip of the soda and said, “On the day I ran away, my parents were forcing me to marry the village chief to become a stepmother to his sixteen-year-old son.”
“I refused, so they cursed and hit me. While hitting me, they let it slip that I’m not their biological daughter. My real parents are surnamed Wen and are from Jingzhou.”
“So I ran away.”
Zhou Jihuai frowned at the first sentence, his expression turning cold by the end. “What are your adoptive parents’ names?”