In the kitchen, the table was filled with neatly wrapped dumplings. They had been left out for a while, and the edges were already slightly dried.
Shen Yan and Yin Quan didn’t say a word. They worked in perfect coordination—one tending the fire, the other washing the pot—as if they had done this countless times before.
They didn’t even know what fillings the dumplings were, so they simply grabbed them at random.
Only after the dumplings were dropped into the boiling water did Shen Yan speak.
“How is Yu Tinghe staying at your place? What’s your relationship with her?”
“Tsk. Are you interrogating me like a criminal?”
“Just answer.”
“Fine, fine. Here’s how it is…”
Yin Quan briefly explained how Yu Tinghe had saved Yin Ze at the airport.
“The grandmother made the decision to let them stay. What? Judging from your attitude toward her, is she your woman outside?”
The usually cold and reserved Yin Quan suddenly sounded teasing.
“She’s not,” Shen Yan denied, pointing at his chest. “She’s the one in my heart.”
“Ugh!” Yin Quan made a disgusted face. “That’s disgusting.”
Shen Yan raised an eyebrow. It was clear he had picked up some rough talk from hanging around troublemakers.
But what he said was the truth—Yu Tinghe really was the woman in his heart.
“Then what about the one in your family?” Yin Quan asked.
“I’ll kick her out. She’s a fraud.” Shen Yan’s face darkened. Thinking of Yu Jiaojiao and her child made him irritated. Four years had passed, and she had actually taken root in the Shen family.
“That might not be so easy. Yu Jiaojiao saved your mother’s life. With that alone, you can’t easily get rid of her…”
Yin Quan then explained the matter of the “life-saving favor.”
Four years earlier, shortly after Shen Yan disappeared, Qiao Xiaoqing and a pregnant Yu Jiaojiao were attacked by thugs while outside. Yu Jiaojiao had stepped in to protect Qiao Xiaoqing, getting slashed by a knife and almost miscarrying in the process.
“She would do something like that?” Shen Yan sneered. He didn’t believe it at all.
Yin Quan was curious. “You think she faked it?”
“She’s not that simple,” Shen Yan said coldly. “I’ll investigate this.”
If she were truly that kind-hearted, she wouldn’t have come to the military compound pretending to be his wife in the first place.
“Are the kids really not yours?” Yin Quan asked again.
It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Shen Yan—it was just that, over four years, everyone had already assumed the children were his. Now that he suddenly denied it, it was hard for anyone to accept immediately.
Shen Yan shot him a sharp look. “We’re still brothers, right? You don’t trust me?”
“Even if I trust you, what about your family and everyone in the compound? Do you think they’ll believe you? You probably don’t even realize how many people Yu Jiaojiao has won over in these four years.”
“When you spoke up earlier at the security office, no one objected. But that doesn’t mean they believe you. People are just thinking differently in their heads. No one will believe it so easily.”
Shen Yan had a headache. He had already clarified things publicly—if no one believed him, what else could he do?
“So what do you suggest?” he asked.
“Paternity testing.”
Shen Yan frowned. “How do you test that?”
He didn’t know much about medical science. The only reason he knew how to treat wounds was because he had been forced to learn through experience.
“It involves comparing blood types, HLA markers, and multiple genetic markers…” (PS: I checked, DNA paternity testing didn’t exist at this time; they relied on serology. If I made a mistake, feel free to point it out.)
“Stop!” Shen Yan raised his hand. “Doctor Yin, do you think I understand any of that jargon?”
Yin Quan shrugged. “Anyway, it’s complicated. Not just anyone can do it, and there are strict procedures.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“I can help you arrange it. But what do I get out of it?”
“You’re negotiating with me now?”
“Even brothers settle accounts clearly.”
“Fine.” Shen Yan gritted his teeth. “Whatever you want, I agree.”
“I want to marry your sister.”
At that moment, both of them fell silent.
Shen Yan’s expression grew serious. He opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
“I will find her,” Yin Quan muttered, almost to himself, and also as a promise to Shen Yan.
“Mm.” Shen Yan nodded firmly.
They said no more and continued silently scooping dumplings.
Once cooked, the fillings became distinguishable.
The slightly greenish-black ones were chive filling. The white ones were cabbage. The ones with faint red hints—where shrimp shapes could still be seen through the wrapper—were shrimp and pork.
They were all plated separately.
Yin Quan quickly ate a few and then packed some to take to the hospital for his grandmother and younger brother.
Yu Tinghe wanted to go see Yin Ze, but both Yin Quan and Shen Yan stopped her, insisting she stay home and rest.
After eating and drinking their fill, the children—overwhelmed by fear and exhaustion—soon fell asleep on the sofa.
Yu Tinghe wanted to carry them upstairs, but her injured foot made even walking difficult, let alone carrying them.
She shot a glare at Shen Yan. “Aren’t you leaving yet? I’m going to take an afternoon nap with the kids.”
She just wanted him to leave so she could take things out of her space and cover the children.
Shen Yan leaned back lazily in the chair. “I’m taking an afternoon nap too.”
“Then go sleep at your own place.”
Yu Tinghe reached out to push him, but he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.
She fell straight into his chest, his strong arms wrapping around her waist.
“Let go!” she struggled, but accidentally touched something she shouldn’t have.
She froze and quickly pulled her hand back, her face flushing red. “You…”
Shen Yan didn’t look any better. He had only meant to hold her, but she had just grabbed his weak point…
“Don’t move.”
His voice turned hoarse, breathing uneven, but his arms around her waist only tightened.
With a sudden motion, he flipped her onto the sofa and pinned her down.
Yu Tinghe instinctively closed her eyes—but the next moment, he suddenly released her.
Without another word, he picked up two children and carried them upstairs.
His steps were fast, almost rushed.
In just two or three minutes, all three children were taken upstairs.
“Thanks, I’m going up to rest too!” she said, cheeks still red, hopping awkwardly on one foot.
But Shen Yan wasn’t about to let her go.
With a swift motion, he pulled her back into his arms.
“Ah—”
She gasped as the sudden loss of balance made her instinctively wrap her legs around his waist and cling tightly to his neck.
She was now hanging entirely in his arms like a child.
The position reminded her instantly of that night.
Her heartbeat went out of control.
“W-what are you doing…”
Shen Yan didn’t answer. He carried her upstairs.
His pace was fast. Afraid of falling, she could only cling tightly to him, burying her face against his neck.
The warmth at her ear made her shiver uncontrollably. She lifted her head, about to scold him—
But he pressed her against the stairwell wall, and a domineering kiss came down.