Jiang Qingmi’s phone chimed a few times. It was from Qing Yanshen. They had just added each other on WeChat.
She tapped it open. It was several photos, all of two-bedroom apartments.
Qing Yanshen: 【What do you think? Which one do you like?】
Jiang Qingmi: 【Is there a one-bedroom place? As long as it has a kitchen and bathroom, that’s enough. A two-bedroom is too big, not necessary】
And the rent would definitely be more expensive. It was just her and the baby living there. No need for anything bigger.
What she didn’t know was that on the other end, Qing Yanshen was standing in an empty apartment. When he saw the message, his ears turned slightly red.
At first glance, he thought she was trying to save money and was about to reply that she didn’t need to worry about that.
But the next second, he suddenly understood something…
A woman’s heart really was unfathomable. Just earlier she denied being his wife, yet now she wanted him to rent a one-bedroom apartment. Only one room… wasn’t that a hint?
That they would all sleep together.
The landlord was still enthusiastically praising how good the apartment was, but Qing Yanshen didn’t hear a word. His mind had already conjured the image of the three of them sharing one room, one bed.
Not long after, Jiang Qingmi received more photos. This time, it was a one-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, and one-bathroom apartment. It had a soft cream-colored interior, great lighting, and a fairly spacious room with a 1.8-meter-wide bed. The living room had wooden flooring and just a sofa.
The kitchen had a rice cooker and induction stove, and the bathroom had a water heater.
Jiang Qingmi typed: 【How much is the rent?】
The reply came quickly: 【800】
Jiang Qingmi sucked in a breath. That expensive? As expected of Beicheng.
If a one-bedroom cost this much, then those two-bedroom apartments must be around 2,000.
She typed: 【Is there anything cheaper?】
Qing Yanshen replied: 【There’s a 400-yuan single room. Very rundown, and it has cockroaches.】
Jiang Qingmi immediately decided: “Then let’s take the 800 one.”
So when Qing Yanshen returned to the hotel in a good mood, he saw the woman looking at him apologetically.
“Thanks. I’ll pay you back the rent later.”
He waved it off. “There you go again. No need to talk about paying back. Besides, I’m going to live there too.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Qingmi was surprised.
“Hm?”
Qing Yanshen was also taken aback.
Jiang Qingmi fell silent for two seconds before asking, “Um… where were you living before?”
“The construction site dorm. Four people to a room.”
“Then you can just stay there.”
Jiang Tuantuan was holding a milk bottle and drinking. She had already bathed and was wearing cute cat-themed pajamas.
Qing Yanshen withdrew his gaze from his daughter and looked at the woman sitting on the sofa. “What do you mean?”
Jiang Qingmi said, “Well… didn’t you find this place for me and Tuantuan? It’s just for us two. There’s probably no space for you, right?”
Qing Yanshen fell silent.
It seemed he had been self-indulgent.
And for quite a while.
In the heavy silence and awkwardness, Jiang Qingmi opened her bag, took out money for the three days at the hotel and the rent, and handed it to him.
“Sorry. Maybe I didn’t make things clear at the beginning. I thought you already understood. Thank you for today.”
She saw that he had gone expressionless and wasn’t taking the money. He looked as if he had lost all worldly desires.
Qing Yanshen was indeed deeply shaken. His dream of the three of them living together had shattered.
He couldn’t help recalling something from a month ago. One night, a coworker had returned to the dorm angrily with his bedding, saying he had fought with his wife and was kicked out.
The reason was that he had lost 5,000 yuan gambling.
He stayed in the dorm for half a month. One day, he happily said his wife had forgiven him and left.
But that very night, he came back. She hadn’t forgiven him after all.
Back then, Qing Yanshen didn’t pay much attention. Now, he felt like he understood that coworker’s feelings.
Jiang Qingmi was still upset with him. Of course she wouldn’t let him come home.
It made sense. A husband disappearing for two months… she must have been frightened and panicked. How could she forgive him so easily?
Naturally, he didn’t take the money she offered. He played with Jiang Tuantuan for another hour. The baby started yawning, her grape-like eyes becoming watery. She was clearly sleepy.
It was already ten o’clock.
After Jiang Tuantuan fell asleep, despite his reluctance, he stood up to leave.
There was no place for him in the rented apartment, let alone this hotel.
“See you tomorrow. Sleep early tonight.”
Jiang Qingmi walked him to the door. “Thank you for today. You don’t have to come tomorrow if you don’t want to.”
Qing Yanshen frowned and looked down at her, his gaze somewhat resentful. “If I’m not allowed to live with you, am I not even allowed to visit?”
“I just thought your construction work is tiring. Running back and forth—”
“I’m not tired. The dorm is close, very close,” Qing Yanshen said directly, watching her as if to see what else she would say.
Jiang Qingmi gave an awkward laugh. “Oh… I see. It’s close.”
Qing Yanshen stared at her, not missing a single expression. After two seconds, he asked, “Qingmi, do you hate seeing me?”
“No,” Jiang Qingmi said. “Not at all.”
He had treated them to a meal, carried their luggage, arranged the hotel, found a place to live, agreed to a random paternity test, and even lent her money. She was grateful, not annoyed.
She was just afraid that in the end, he wasn’t the male lead, just a passerby. She didn’t want him to become too emotionally attached to Jiang Tuantuan, only to be hurt later.
“Then I’ll come again tomorrow.”
Jiang Qingmi watched his figure disappear down the hotel corridor before returning to the room.
On the other side, Qing Yanshen wasn’t lying. His dorm really wasn’t far. The construction site had rented nearby residential buildings for convenience.
It was about a ten-minute walk.
As soon as he entered the dorm, his coworkers, as usual, were half-dressed, smoking and playing games, lying in bed chatting with women, or talking to their wives on the phone.
Normally, no one paid much attention to him. He didn’t talk much, didn’t smoke or drink, and after losing his memory, he knew nothing. They found him boring.
But today, as soon as he walked in, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
“Hey, bro, so you’ve got a wife? You’re so quiet, we thought you were single,” said Wang Ge, a 35-year-old playing games shirtless.
He was the one who had been kicked out by his wife after losing money gambling.
From the upper bunk, a thin, dark man leaned down. His nickname was Monkey, another bachelor in the dorm.
“So you’ve got a wife why come back here? Are we rough guys better than your wife?”
“Hey, Xiao Qing,” said Zhao Zheng, who was on the phone with his wife. “Monkey said he saw you eating at Sisters’ Home Cooking with your wife and kid. Is it true?”
“Of course it’s true,” Monkey said. “His wife came to the site with their daughter, carrying bags. I saw it myself. Didn’t believe it at first. His wife is really pretty fair skin, great temperament, looks like a TV beauty.”
His tone turned sour. “I’m telling you, Xiao Qing, your wife is really something. If you don’t keep an eye on her, someone else will.”
“Have you said enough?”
Monkey met a pair of deep, dark, cold eyes. It felt like falling into an icy abyss. He shivered and quickly looked away.
It was like seeing Qing Yanshen for the first time.
Qing Yanshen’s lips pressed together, his expression cold. Normally, he would ignore it, but hearing Jiang Qingmi mentioned like that made him uncomfortable.
“How my wife is isn’t your concern. You’re not young anymore. You should worry about yourself.”
Monkey, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, stayed silent and lay back down.
Zhao Zheng quickly eased the tension. “He’s right. Monkey, watch what you say.”
Wang Ge added, “Yeah, show some respect.”
Qing Yanshen said nothing and walked to his bed, which was the top bunk above Zhao Zheng.
The room was filled with smoke and a faint smell of feet. He expressionlessly opened the window for ventilation. Compared to the messy beds around him, his was neat and orderly.
He took his clothes and went to wash up.
Wang Ge sighed, “No wonder his wife came all this way. He’s tall, good-looking, and clean. Always showers and changes clothes.”
Monkey scoffed, “Too soft. I could never be like that.”
Zhao Zheng and Wang Ge exchanged a glance but said nothing.
After washing up, Qing Yanshen hung his clothes and lay on the bed.
He opened WeChat and clicked into Jiang Qingmi’s profile. She had set her Moments to visible for only three days.
Three days ago, she posted: “This life is unbearable!”
Nothing else.
He stared at it for a long time, wondering what she had gone through.
He clicked her profile picture. It was a chubby orange cat, clearly AI-generated, fluffy and glossy, smiling happily. Beside it were small words: “Cat, bless me to get rich.”
He saved the image.
Her username was 【Happy Every Day】.
He went back to their chat history and read it several times before exiting.
But his heart wouldn’t settle.
Too much had happened today.
He thought of Jiang Qingmi smiling while eating, her eyes curved like a sly little cat. Then Jiang Tuantuan’s chubby, adorable face.
Then the foreman’s words: “Qing Yanshen, your wife and kid are here. Go see them.”
At that moment, his mind went blank.
Wife? Child? His?
Could he have something so precious?
He had stood there in a daze until the foreman slapped his shoulder. “What are you doing? Run!”
Only then did he realize he could run.
He ran against the wind.
His wife and child had come to find him.
Like a drifting person finding direction. Like roots finding soil.
At the entrance, he stopped, took off his helmet, dusted himself off, fixed his hair, and walked out steadily.
A woman in a white dress stood there, long black hair flowing, small face, pointed chin, big dark eyes, looking at him with confusion.
His heart pounded violently.
Even now, it hasn’t calmed down.
He didn’t know how to describe this feeling.
Zhao Zheng’s voice pulled him back. “Xiao Qing, your wife and child came all this way. The site’s off the day after tomorrow. Will you take them out?”
“I’ll listen to her,” Qing Yanshen replied.
“My wife said there’s a big underground mall at Beicheng intersection. The clothes there are nice and affordable. You can take her there.”
“Got it. Thanks, Zhao Ge.”
“No need to thank me. We can’t afford expensive things, but women love new clothes. Even if you’re quiet, you need to put in effort in front of your wife.”
Qing Yanshen nodded seriously.
Monkey suddenly scoffed, “Already married what’s the point of putting in effort? Not like you’re still courting. Isn’t it awkward? As they say, when an old couple kisses, it’s nightmares for days.”
Zhao Zheng shook his head. “No wonder you’re single.”
Wang Ge burst out laughing.
The dorm became lively.
Qing Yanshen ignored the noise.
They started work at 8:30. He usually woke at 7, ran 6 kilometers, washed up, then went to work.
But tomorrow, he planned to wake up earlier to buy breakfast for Jiang Qingmi and the baby.
What could a two-year-old eat?
He realized he knew nothing.
He started searching online:
“How many teeth does a two-year-old have?”
Answer: 【Usually 16–20 teeth.】
He typed again:
“How much can a two-year-old talk?”
Answer: 【Short phrases, about 200 words vocabulary.】
He thought of Jiang Tuantuan. She could say even more. His daughter was clearly smart.
He continued searching:
“What does a two-year-old eat daily?”
At 2 a.m., Qing Yanshen finally put down his phone and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qingmi was about to sleep when she received a message.
Qing Yanshen: 【How many teeth does the baby have now?】
She replied: 【Why are you asking?】
Qing Yanshen: 【Just curious.】
Jiang Qingmi: 【19】
Qing Yanshen: 【The baby is amazing!】
Jiang Qingmi: ?
If you have nothing to do, go run a few laps.
She turned off her phone and went to sleep.