Because she was walking too fast, the beam of the flashlight swayed back and forth along the narrow path—just like Ruan Jiaojiao’s mood right now: excited!
He was back.
The man she had fallen for at first sight four years ago—he had returned!
And not only that, he was holding her wrist, leading her forward!
He was still as handsome and striking as he had been back then. In fact, he looked even taller and more imposing now. If she could really end up with him… then the four years she had spent “as a widow” wouldn’t have been in vain.
Ruan Jiaojiao’s face burned as she drifted into her fantasy.
The next second, her hand was suddenly thrown off.
The man’s strength was overwhelming. She stumbled several steps and crashed into a tree trunk, the impact sending a sharp pain through her shoulder.
“Ow… it hurts~” Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Shen Yan pitifully. “Brother Shen Yan… you hurt me.”
Shen Yan showed no trace of pity. The disgust on his face was almost tangible.
If he hadn’t been afraid her shouting would wake the children just now, he wouldn’t have touched her at all.
“Four years ago I told you to get lost. How are you still here?”
Four years ago, after his wound split open and he was urgently sent back to Shanghai for treatment, he had asked his teammates to go to Shitou Village to pick someone up for him.
When he returned from the hospital full of anticipation, he saw Ruan Jiaojiao instead.
That was when he realized—the wrong person had been brought back.
He confronted her, then rushed back to Shitou Village in a panic to find Ruan Tinghe. But what he saw there was Ruan Tinghe talking about marriage with another man.
Heartbroken, he accepted a mission to go undercover in the Hong Gang.
During those four years undercover, he only maintained secret contact with people from the military, so he had no idea Ruan Jiaojiao had stayed behind.
It was only after the mission ended that he learned from Song Kaiyuan that this woman had shamelessly remained in the compound, even giving birth to a son—and publicly claiming to be his wife and the child’s mother.
No matter how many times he denied it, no one believed him.
Because four years ago, he had submitted a marriage application, and he had also asked his teammate to bring Ruan Jiaojiao back. Without ever clarifying the truth to the public, he then disappeared for four years.
So both the compound and the military unit had assumed Ruan Jiaojiao was his fiancée.
This time, he was going to settle this mess once and for all.
Ruan Jiaojiao flinched at his cold expression. Tears hung in her eyes, ready to fall, making her look pitiful.
“Brother Shen Yan… I—”
Shen Yan didn’t bother listening. He strode straight toward the Shen family home.
Watching his merciless back, Ruan Jiaojiao clenched her fingers tightly, gritting her teeth in silence.
“Shen Yan… even if you hate me, it doesn’t matter. The child is already born. You can only be my man.”
At the entrance of the Shen household, Shen’s mother Qiao Xiaqing stood waiting with Shen Yaozu, peering down the road expectantly.
“Son!”
The moment Shen Yan appeared, Qiao Xiaqing rushed over in excitement. She grabbed him and checked him over thoroughly. Seeing that he hadn’t lost any limbs—only a frightening scar on his forehead—she finally relaxed.
“You little brat! Four years! Not even a single message home!” she scolded, hitting his arm lightly. Then, her voice broke as she rubbed the spot gently. “Did I hit you too hard?”
Shen Yan draped an arm around her shoulders and guided her inside.
“It hurts, Mom. My arm’s still injured.”
“What?! You’re injured? Let me see!” Qiao Xiaqing panicked immediately, pressing him onto the sofa and trying to roll up his sleeve.
“Nothing. I was joking,” he said quickly.
“I don’t believe you!”
In the end, she insisted, and he had no choice but to let her check.
There were no new injuries on his arm, but old scars crisscrossed his skin—countless, overlapping, and brutal.
Qiao Xiaqing felt a sting in her chest as she looked at them, but she couldn’t bring herself to blame him. She knew these scars were his duty… and his medals.
For a soldier, injuries were inevitable.
As long as he came back… that was enough.
Four years ago, Shen Yan had left without a word. The military leadership only said he had been assigned to a mission, without revealing any details.
She had spent those years in constant anxiety, plagued by nightmares, terrified that one day she would hear news of his death.
She wiped her tears secretly, then noticed Shen Yaozu standing nearby, sucking on his fingers awkwardly.
“Yaozu, come here. Call him Dad.”
Shen Yaozu had been raised chubby and pale, like a small mountain waddling over. He timidly called out, “Dad.”
“Son, this is the child born to Jiaojiao. His name is Yaozu.”
The child remembered what his mother had told him: he had to please his father. Only if his father was happy would he and his mother live well in the Shen household.
So he reached out to grab Shen Yan’s finger.
But Shen Yan suddenly lifted his hand away, avoiding the touch.
He didn’t want to speak harshly in front of the child, nor did he have the energy to deal with this mess.
He stood up and yawned. “Mom, let’s talk tomorrow. I haven’t slept in two days.”
He leaned forward dramatically, pointing at his dark circles. “Look at this—my eyes look like I got punched. You don’t want me walking around the compound tomorrow looking like a panda, right?”
Qiao Xiaqing couldn’t help laughing through her tears. “Still joking at a time like this. Go to bed! But don’t you dare disappear again. I’ve got plenty of accounts to settle with you!”
“Yes, yes.”
Shen Yan responded lazily and pushed open his bedroom door—only to freeze.
The room was decorated in pink, filled with women’s and children’s belongings.
Someone had taken over his room.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
He didn’t think his mother would do this without permission. She knew better than anyone that he hated people touching his things.
“Brother Shen Yan, don’t blame Mom. I insisted on moving in.”
Before Qiao Xiaqing could answer, Ruan Jiaojiao rushed to speak, eyes red, taking all the blame onto herself.
Her obedient tone made Qiao Xiaqing’s heart ache.
“It’s not Jiaojiao’s fault. I made the decision,” she quickly explained. “When Yaozu first started speaking, he kept crying for his father until he lost his voice. You weren’t home, so I let Jiaojiao and the child stay in your room. Seeing your things every day, sleeping in your bed—that’s the only way he stopped crying.”
Qiao Xiaqing knew Shen Yan would be angry, but she had been left with no choice.
The child was too young then, crying nonstop for his father, refusing to eat or sleep, even developing a fever.
She had no choice but to agree.
“Ah Yan, I know you and Jiaojiao were only brought together because of a mistake, but now you even have a child. Try to accept them.”
“And besides, you were the one who asked someone to bring her back four years ago. You can’t just bring her back and then abandon her.”
Qiao Xiaqing tried to persuade him gently.
But Shen Yan’s expression grew colder and colder.
“I told you four years ago—the child is not mine. I never had any relationship with her.”
His voice was icy. He had already shown her enough restraint. If she insisted on pushing further, then he would no longer hold back.
Ruan Jiaojiao’s face turned deathly pale.
Four years ago, when she first found him and claimed she was carrying his child, he had said the exact same thing.
And told her to get lost.
But she refused to leave.
After he disappeared, she stayed behind, gave birth to Yaozu, and through four years of effort, managed to secure her position in the compound as “Shen Yan’s wife.”
She had enjoyed four years of comfort, admiration, and luxury.
She would never go back to being a village girl again.
Shen Yan’s wife—she would be, no matter what.
So what if he denied it?
It had been four years. Who could prove the child wasn’t his?
As long as the Shen family acknowledged it… and the compound acknowledged it… that was enough.
“Mom… forget it. I’ll take the child and leave.”