Ye Sheng’s heart raced. This was the family compound—surely no one would come up here to steal clothes. Could they have been blown away by the wind?
She walked to the balcony and cautiously leaned half her body out to look down. She saw quite a few women and children gathered in the courtyard, chatting animatedly in small groups while occasionally glancing up at the sky.
Ye Sheng quickly pulled herself back inside, her heart sinking. Where on earth was she supposed to find clothes?
And with the original owner’s figure, going out without a bra would be far too prominent and conspicuous—that definitely wouldn’t do.
Ye Sheng crouched down, thinking. Going down to look for the clothes was out of the question. She needed to find another way to help herself. She went to the bedroom and opened the wardrobe, searching around. To her surprise, in the very bottom compartment, she found gauze bandages and medicine for external injuries.
Without hesitation, she took out a roll of bandages and wrapped it around her chest, layer by layer. At least this way she could go out. She’d buy a couple of bras later to make do. Thinking about it, she felt a bit grateful to Zhou Yanshen—this man, though he seemed to have a bad temper, was actually very thoughtful. At least she wouldn’t be completely lost in an unfamiliar environment.
Just as Ye Sheng tied the knot and pulled down her short-sleeved shirt with satisfaction, she heard someone outside exclaim: “Oh my god, Beibei! Beibei is up on the building!”
“Where’s Zhu Hong? How could Zhu Hong leave Beibei alone at home?”
Without a second thought, Ye Sheng rushed out and leaned over the balcony to look down. Seeing that everyone was now staring in the direction above her, she also leaned out and looked up. On the balcony of the fifth floor, a child of about four or five was trembling precariously on the narrow ledge extending outside the balcony railing, tiny hands gripping tightly to the corner of the balcony.
The child’s legs were shaking uncontrollably, clearly about to give out. And the gasps and shouts from below would only make the child more nervous and frightened.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Ye Sheng nimbly climbed onto the balcony railing, used the adjacent windowsill to pull herself up, and in a few quick moves reached the floor above.
She carefully approached the child while soothing him: “Little one, you need to be brave, just hold on a little longer—Auntie is coming to save you.”
The child’s face was flushed red. Hearing Ye Sheng’s voice, tears glistened in his beautiful eyes, but he looked at her without much emotion.
Ye Sheng held onto the balcony with one hand, carefully stepping along the ledge until she reached the child. She bent down and, with quick reflexes, scooped the child up with one arm around his waist.
The little one was surprisingly heavy, and Ye Sheng wobbled for a moment before steadying herself.
By then, someone had already rushed in, helping Ye Sheng bring the child inside and then reaching out to pull Ye Sheng in as well.
Among them was a slightly plump woman in her thirties who held the child, soothing him while looking at Ye Sheng with curiosity: “You’re Zhou Yanshen’s wife, aren’t you? I saw you just come out of his place.”
Ye Sheng nodded reluctantly. They weren’t divorced yet, and she was staying at Zhou Yanshen’s house—so yes, she was Zhou Yanshen’s wife.
Besides, the divorce was between her and Zhou Yanshen; there was no need for others to know.
The woman’s warmth instantly increased, her smile deepening: “Oh my, when did you arrive? We were just saying that Zhou Yanshen got married but never brought his wife around—we haven’t even had the wedding banquet yet. You’ve come at just the right time. You two should hold a wedding ceremony, and we’ll all come to drink to your happiness.”
A woman with big eyes who looked quite straightforward nodded in agreement: “That’s right, we absolutely must drink at Zhou Yanshen’s wedding banquet. When Zhang Lu and I got married, he was the one leading the rowdiest antics. This time, we can’t let him off easy.”
Ye Sheng was momentarily at a loss for words, looking somewhat awkwardly at these enthusiastic women.
The slightly plump woman suddenly remembered something and let out a “hey”: “We’ve been so busy talking that I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Wang Ying. You can call me Sister-in-law or Ying-jie, either works. I live right downstairs from you.”
Then she gestured to the big-eyed woman: “She’s Wu Xianglan, she lives across from me.”
Ye Sheng smiled and nodded to everyone: “My name is Ye Sheng.”
Wang Ying smiled: “That’s such a pretty name, and you really have a connection with Zhou Yanshen—the last character of your names is the same.”
Ye Sheng really couldn’t withstand such enthusiastic conversation, so she looked at the child in Wang Ying’s arms: “Is the child okay? Did she get scared?”
Wang Ying only then remembered, patting the child’s back: “It’s fine, it’s fine. Beibei, where’s your mom?”
Beibei, with red-rimmed eyes, leaned against Wang Ying’s shoulder, her little face pale, lips pressed tightly together, not saying a word.
Wang Ying didn’t press further: “This Zhu Hong is really unreliable. She left the door open and disappeared, leaving such a small child at home alone—how dangerous.”
Then she coaxed Beibei: “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Come to Auntie’s place, Auntie will steam some buns for you in a bit.” Then she looked at Ye Sheng: “You haven’t had breakfast either, have you? Come eat at my place.”
Ye Sheng felt too embarrassed to accept: “No need, I have everything at home.”
Wang Ying cut her off mercilessly: “Have what? Your place doesn’t even have a single pot or bowl right now. Come on, today we’re all eating buns at my place. I kneaded the dough last night and prepared the filling early this morning. If it weren’t for watching their plane fly over, they’d already be steamed by now.”
Her words reminded Wu Xianglan: “Oh, speaking of watching the plane, I wonder if it’s flown over yet.”
Wang Ying thought for a moment: “It definitely hasn’t yet—we didn’t hear anything just now.”
Then she explained to Ye Sheng: “Last night they got a last-minute night flight mission. They should be coming back around now. Every time we see the plane return, we can finally relax.” She laughed as she spoke: “From now on, whenever Zhou Yanshen has a flight mission, you’ll be just as nervous as we are.”
Ye Sheng smiled but said nothing. Before she could refuse, she was enthusiastically pulled by Wang Ying and Wu Xianglan up to Wang Ying’s place on the third floor.
The layout was the same, just with more furniture. The only appliance was a television, covered with a floral-print cloth.
Wang Ying set the child down, warmly invited Ye Sheng to sit, and called for Wu Xianglan to help her in the kitchen make the buns.
It was only then that Ye Sheng noticed something seemed off about the child called Beibei—she hadn’t spoken a single word the whole time. Now she stood leaning by the sofa, incredibly well-behaved and quiet, her eyes fixed on a pair of glass sika deer placed in front of the television.
Ye Sheng was about to speak to Beibei when she heard a rumbling sound outside, followed by the cheers of children in the courtyard: “Dad’s back! Dad’s back!”
Wang Ying came out of the kitchen with flour-covered hands, overjoyed: “They’re back early today—just in time for the meal. Have Zhou Yanshen come over to my place for breakfast too. I’ll make a couple more cold dishes.”
Ye Sheng thought about her awkward relationship with Zhou Yanshen—wouldn’t it be even more awkward in a stranger’s home? She stood up to decline, but then the door was urgently knocked on.
Wang Ying was curious: “Who’s that, so impatient? Coming, coming.”
She opened the door, and a young woman rushed in frantically. Seeing the child by the sofa, she ran over crying and hugged her: “Beibei, what are you doing here? You scared Mommy to death.”
Ye Sheng recognized her as the woman who had come looking for Zhou Yanshen last night. This was getting interesting.
Wang Ying frowned at Zhu Hong, who wouldn’t stop crying. “Zhu Hong, how are you watching the child? Where did you go this morning, leaving Beibei home alone? You know Beibei isn’t like other children!”