Ye Sheng smiled nonchalantly. “It’s fine. Even if he’s been in relationships before, that was all before marriage. I believe that after marriage, Zhou Yanshen will be a good family man who takes care of his home.”
After all, everything she ate and spent right now came from Zhou Yanshen, so defending his reputation was no trouble at all. It wasn’t like she was going to spend the rest of her life with him anyway.
Wang Ying let out an “Aiyo.” “I knew you were a girl with a clear head. That young man Zhou Yanshen is truly something. Sure, his temper can be bad sometimes, but the man’s got real skill. All the test flight missions in the unit are his now. You listen to your sister-in-law—stay here with us, have a good life with Zhou Yanshen, and aim for a chubby little boy next year. The two of you are both good-looking, so your child is bound to be handsome too.”
Ye Sheng’s mind went blank for a moment. How did the conversation suddenly jump to having children?
Wang Ying grew more excited as she spoke. “Weren’t you working at the Art Troupe before? You can consider my suggestion from this morning too—just work at our Art Troupe over here.”
She then turned to Wu Xianglan and said, “See, dancers really are different. That figure, those long arms and legs—so lovely to look at.”
Ye Sheng was a bit embarrassed by such direct praise, so she simply stayed quiet and let the two women shower her with all sorts of compliments.
When they reached the entrance of the residential building, Wang Ying checked the time. “Ye Sheng, you go on up and rest for a bit. We’ll head to the vegetable garden to pick some greens, and you’ll come to my place for lunch.”
Without giving Ye Sheng any chance to decline, she added, “It’s settled then. I’ll make noodles for lunch—you’ve got to try our local specialty noodles.”
Ye Sheng could only nod in agreement. After all, there wasn’t even a single cooking utensil in her own home.
She would just have to owe this favor for now and find a chance to repay it later.
She watched Wang Ying and Wu Xianglan walk off into the distance before turning to head upstairs. Seeing the door slightly ajar, Ye Sheng figured Zhou Yanshen must have brought Beibei back.
But when she pushed the door open, Zhou Yanshen wasn’t there.
Only then did Ye Sheng remember that she hadn’t locked the door when she left that morning. Fortunately, this was the family compound, so it was very safe.
She washed all the newly bought clothes and hung them on the clothesline. Worried they might get blown away by the wind like last night, she found some rope and tied the hems of the clothes to the line.
When she finished, she stood with her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork with satisfaction, when she heard the door bang open. Startled, Ye Sheng turned around—it was Zhou Yanshen carrying Beibei inside, with a bag of luggage in one hand.
Before Ye Sheng could say anything, Zhou Yanshen dropped the bag and carried Beibei over to sit on the sofa. “Let’s talk now.”
“About what?” Ye Sheng didn’t react at first.
Zhou Yanshen got straight to the point. “Didn’t you say you wanted a divorce? Setting aside the fact that you don’t have your ID card or household registration booklet and can’t get a divorce right now—even if you could, how would you get past your family?”
Ye Sheng was sharp herself and immediately realized that Zhou Yanshen was trying to use the divorce as leverage to negotiate terms. If she guessed correctly, his intention involved the Beibei in his arms.
If she agreed to his terms, he would cooperate fully with the divorce. “So, how exactly do we cooperate?”
Zhou Yanshen was slightly taken aback. He looked up at Ye Sheng, wondering if it was just his imagination—over these past two days, he’d seen another side of her. She was as wary as a little hedgehog, yet exceptionally clever.
Even the light in her eyes was different from before.
Ye Sheng felt uneasy under Zhou Yanshen’s gaze. This man had deep-set eyes that, when fixed on someone, felt like standing at the edge of an abyss—an overwhelming pressure that seemed capable of piercing straight through to one’s soul.
She cleared her throat. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
Zhou Yanshen withdrew his gaze. “You’re right. You stay here for these two days and help take care of Beibei. I’ll handle the persuasion with your parents, and I can call my mother to send over the household register.”
After a pause, he pressed further: “Are you sure you want a divorce?”
Ye Sheng nodded earnestly. “A marriage without love is too exhausting to maintain. Besides, we want different things in life—better to part ways sooner rather than later.”
Zhou Yanshen lowered his eyes as if in thought, then nodded. “Alright, I understand. What about Beibei?”
Before he could finish, the sound of an alarm blared from outside once again.
Zhou Yanshen set Beibei down on the sofa, said “I’ll leave him to you,” and swiftly leaped down from the second floor!
Ye Sheng was once again left dumbfounded. Were the doors in this house just for decoration?
And why had the alarms been going off so frequently lately?
After a moment’s pause, she turned to look at Beibei sitting on the sofa—a fair-skinned, well-behaved child, but with a dullness in his eyes, always staring blankly at one spot.
Ye Sheng crouched down in front of Beibei and waved her hand before his eyes. Beibei showed no reaction, simply lost in his own world.
She leaned forward and gave Beibei a hug. “You’re a child from the stars, an angel baby.”
…
At noon, Wang Ying arrived right on time to call Ye Sheng down for lunch. She showed no surprise at seeing Beibei. “Xiao Zhou and the others are busy again—lots of emergency assignments lately. I’m afraid you’re bearing the brunt of it. That Zhu Hong is really unreliable; who knows where she’s run off to now.”
She chattered on as she went over and picked up Beibei. “Never mind that. Let’s go eat now—you can try our hand-pulled noodles. Tomorrow I’ll buy a chicken and make you a big plate chicken.”
Ye Sheng knew that most households these days had modest means, and eating meat every day was somewhat difficult. How could she feel comfortable eating at Wang Ying’s house every day? “No need, I’ll go buy some pots and pans this afternoon and cook for myself.”
Wang Ying wouldn’t hear of it. “Don’t stand on ceremony with me! From now on, we’re upstairs-downstairs neighbors.”
She looked at Beibei. “Besides, you’ll be busy looking after Beibei these two days—no time to cook. Speaking of which, Beibei is such a pitiful child. He used to be so smart—could recite dozens of Tang poems at just two years old.”
Ye Sheng was surprised. “Beibei wasn’t born this way?”
Wang Ying shook her head. “Of course not. He was such a bright child before—it was all because of that accident.” Seeming to realize she’d said too much, she quickly added, “Oh dear, I’ve been so busy talking I forgot the pot’s still on the stove. Come on, let’s hurry and eat.”
Ye Sheng didn’t press further, but she looked at Beibei with sympathy. Such a young child—how much trauma must he have endured to end up like this?
Wang Ying was a native of Xin Province, warm and forthright by nature. Once home, she called for Ye Sheng to wash her hands, set Beibei down, and hurried back into the kitchen.
Ye Sheng took Beibei’s hand, washed up, and went to the kitchen to help, only to be shooed out by Wang Ying. “This little bit of cooking doesn’t need help. Go sit for a bit—it’ll be ready in no time.”
Wang Ying worked quickly and efficiently. In no time, she came out carrying two plates of dishes, then went back inside and brought out three bowls of noodles.
“I was originally thinking that since both my Old Song and Zhou Yanshen were here, we’d all have lunch together. But with them being this busy, I doubt they’ll have time today. Let’s just the three of us eat. Oh, and after we finish, I’ll take you to the sanitation team to pick up some family planning supplies.”