She quickly smeared on the ointment, withdrew her hand, and stood up.
Her voice turned cold as she chased him away. “Officer Shen, please leave. From now on, whether there’s something or not, don’t come here again.”
Shen Yan was stunned. Why was she angry again?
And what wife and child?
“What wife and child?” he grabbed her wrist. “I’m not married.”
“Whether you’re married or not has nothing to do with me! Don’t act like I’m jealous or something!” Ruan Tinghe pulled her hand back sharply, feeling that every time she ran into Shen Yan, she became completely irrational.
She clearly knew he was deceiving her, so why did she forget everything the moment she saw him?
It was all his fault! Acting like a married man with a wife and child, yet still constantly provoking her!
If Shen Yan knew what she was thinking, he would have felt extremely wronged.
He had done nothing at all—yet she accused him of flirting with her.
“Go quickly. I’m going to sleep.”
“Wait. Let’s make this clear.” Shen Yan grabbed her and pressed her against the wall. His tall body trapped her in the shadow.
“Who told you I have a wife and child?”
Ruan Tinghe saw he was still denying it and got angry too. She blurted it out.
“It was your teammate—Li Bao! I went to the police station looking for you, and he said you got a call from your wife saying your son was sick and hospitalized, so you rushed home immediately!”
“That idiot!” Shen Yan was furious enough to want to beat Li Bao to death. It seemed his absence from the team had made their training too easy.
“Hmph!” Ruan Tinghe turned her head away and ignored him, clearly still unconvinced.
Helpless, Shen Yan lowered his voice to coax her. “I’m really not married. That woman and child… I can’t explain it to you right now.”
This matter dated back four years. If she found out he was that man from four years ago, she might never speak to him again.
He couldn’t take that risk. He could only take it slowly.
“I don’t need your explanation. I’m not interested!”
“You—” Shen Yan was both frustrated and helpless. He pinched her cheek lightly and turned her face toward him.
“Can I be the one insisting on explaining? Hm?”
At that moment, the flashlight accidentally switched off. Darkness swallowed everything.
The surroundings became completely silent.
She couldn’t see anything, yet she could feel his burning gaze in the dark, as if it were staring right at her, making her throat dry.
She swallowed hard and pushed him. “Go. I really need to sleep.”
Shen Yan didn’t move. “You still haven’t told me why you’re living here. And the ‘new father’ you said you’d find for the kids… is it Yin Quan?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Don’t choose him. He has a dead-fish face. Boring.”
Ruan Tinghe didn’t know how to respond. That was just something she said in anger earlier—who knew she’d actually run into Shen Yan?
Where was she supposed to find a “new father” now?
At that moment, a sharp woman’s voice suddenly rang out from downstairs.
“Shen Yan! Brother Shen Yan!”
Ruan Tinghe was startled and quickly ducked out from under his arm. She ran to the corridor and looked down.
Outside the courtyard gate, a woman was shining a flashlight upward. Because the beam was limited, she could only see a silhouette on the second-floor stairwell—clearly a woman, but not her face.
It was Ruan Jiaojiao.
She had just learned from the night patrol that Shen Yan had returned—but he hadn’t gone home. Instead, he had gone to the Yin family.
So she rushed over immediately.
Seeing another woman there, panic surged in her heart.
The man she had waited four years for had returned—she absolutely could not let another woman take him away!
She slapped the gate desperately and shouted.
“Brother Shen Yan, I know you’re in there! Come out!”
“Mom and the child are waiting for you at home!”
“Brother Shen Yan, open the door!”
Her cries were loud and quickly attracted neighbors. Lights turned on one after another, and people came out to watch the commotion.
From her position, Ruan Tinghe could vaguely see the woman’s outline. She looked familiar, but she couldn’t place her.
She was just about to ask Shen Yan who that woman was—when she turned around, he was already gone.
Looking down, she saw him stride quickly downstairs, open the door, and go out.
He said something to the woman.
Then he grabbed her and left.
Ruan Tinghe’s grip on the flashlight tightened.
“Scumbag! Has a home but doesn’t return to it, and instead comes here to cause trouble!”
Angrily, she went back into the room—only to find the three little ones already awake, rubbing their eyes sleepily on the bed.
Dabao yawned. “Mom, what happened?”
Little Treasure pointed at the floor and babbled something.
Erbao translated, “Sister says she saw Uncle Shen lying on the ground… hugging Mom and kissing her.”
Ruan Tinghe’s face flushed instantly.
Kissing? That was an accident! It barely brushed her cheek—how was that kissing?
“Little Treasure was just dreaming!” she quickly changed the subject. “Do you want some water?”
Little Treasure licked her lips, nodded, then shook her head. She held her little belly and looked at her with watery, pitiful eyes.
Before Erbao could speak, Dabao stopped him.
“No need to translate. I understand! She wants water—but she also needs to pee first.”
Ruan Tinghe also understood and picked her up.
Little Treasure rested her head on her shoulder, sniffing deeply.
It was Mommy’s scent… and Uncle Shen’s scent.
She was sure she had seen Uncle Shen—but why wasn’t Mommy admitting it?
“Dabao, Erbao, do you want to go too?”
“Yes!” the brothers said in unison, jumping out of bed and putting on their shoes quickly.
“Mom, I’ll hold the flashlight!” Dabao eagerly took it and led the way.
Erbao gritted his teeth in frustration. Again! Big brother beat him to it!
Downstairs, they found Grandma Qin and Yin Ze were also awake.
Grandma Qin asked worriedly, “Did the shouting just now wake the children?”
Ruan Tinghe nodded. “Yes, but they needed to use the bathroom anyway—they would’ve woken up soon.”
“Then go quickly. Children need enough sleep.”
After taking care of the children, Grandma Qin stayed downstairs.
Seeing her still awake, Ruan Tinghe finally asked, “Grandma Qin, who was that woman shouting outside just now?”
“Probably the wife of that brat Shen Yan,” Grandma Qin said. “He’s been away for four years without a word, and now that he’s back, he didn’t even go home first. Instead he came here—no wonder his wife came looking for him at night.”
“That man you saw earlier was Shen Yan. He grew up with A-Ze and A-Quan and is serving in the military.”
“He hasn’t had any news for years. It’s understandable that his wife is anxious. I’ll definitely lecture him properly tomorrow. How could he leave his pregnant wife for four years without a word?”
Ruan Tinghe lowered her eyes, her brows tightly furrowed.
Her mind was in chaos.
Shen Yan said he wasn’t married.
But Li Bao and Grandma Qin both said he had a wife and child.
What exactly was going on?
He had no reason to lie—but Grandma Qin didn’t seem to be lying either.
Could it be that he had a wife and even a child… yet he himself didn’t know?
Grandma Qin noticed her distracted state. “Xiaohe, what’s wrong?”
“I’m just sleepy,” she yawned. “A little spaced out.”
“Then go back and sleep.”
The children had also finished. Ruan Tinghe brought the three little ones back to the room.
She thought her mind would be too messy to fall asleep—but the moment her head hit the pillow, she drifted off almost instantly.