Huo Guangji’s face instantly darkened.
Could this woman really hate him that much?
Honestly speaking, there had never been any special feelings between him and Qin Yu’e. Back then, his family had insisted he marry her, so he simply did. To him, having an extra woman in the house didn’t seem much different from before.
Who would’ve thought that right after their wedding night, he’d be urgently recalled back to the military unit? Later, he only learned about the existence of the two children through letters from home.
Could she really despise him this much just because of that?
But hadn’t she been the one crying and insisting on marrying him back then? Before the marriage, he had already made it perfectly clear—someone like him could never stay home farming a few acres of land and live peacefully with her.
And hadn’t she agreed?
So why now…
While he was still thinking, some of the young soldiers behind him finished eating and walked out.
The moment Ning An saw Huo Guangji standing there blankly, he slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“Captain, did you make sister-in-law angry again?”
“Get lost!” Huo Guangji snapped darkly.
Then, suddenly remembering Qin Yu’e’s earlier words, he turned to Ning An and asked,
“What kind of person do you think I am?”
Ning An’s eyes widened as if he’d seen a ghost.
Since when did his captain start asking philosophical questions like this?
Still, he answered honestly.
“Captain, you’re the fiercest guy in the whole company. You always take the most dangerous missions!”
“That’s not what I mean!” Huo Guangji frowned and waved impatiently before awkwardly hinting, “I mean… when it comes to other people, have I ever done something unforgivable? Something outrageous?”
Ning An looked utterly confused.
But then he glanced toward the kitchen corner where Qin Yu’e’s figure had just disappeared.
Immediately, he understood.
“Ohhh, you mean with sister-in-law! Well… that actually is a little excessive…”
“How have I been bad to her?!” Huo Guangji immediately glared.
He’d just handed over all his money to that woman—what more did she want?
“Well…” Ning An scratched his head awkwardly but still answered honestly. “Just look at sister-in-law and those two little kids. They’re so thin it hurts to look at them. Captain… did you really send money home?”
“Of course I did!” Huo Guangji’s face grew even darker.
Every month he sent thirty yuan home. No matter how he thought about it, that should have been enough to feed two children.
“Did the commander approve your leave request yet? Didn’t I ask you to go investigate things back in my hometown for me?”
“It got approved. Commander said I can leave tomorrow.”
“Leave today! I’ll pay for the train ticket!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Guangji reached for his pocket—
Only to remember all his money had already been taken away by Qin Yu’e.
His expression darkened.
After coughing awkwardly, he added,
“Pay for it first. I’ll reimburse you when you get back.”
When Qin Yu’e went to pick up the children from Wei Wenjie’s place, Wei Wenjie was so reluctant to let them go that she clung to their little hands.
Zhuyue’s eyes rolled mischievously before she suddenly reached up with her tiny hands, hugged Wei Wenjie’s face, and loudly planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Auntie Wei, Zhuyue will come play with you again tomorrow!”
That instantly made Wei Wenjie beam with happiness.
Still, she knew the children hadn’t seen Qin Yu’e all day, so she finally let go.
Even so, her gaze remained glued lovingly to the children.
“Sister, make sure you bring them again tomorrow!”
“Of course!” Qin Yu’e agreed readily. “Then I’ll have to trouble Sister Wei again tomorrow.”
“What trouble? What nonsense!” Wei Wenjie laughed. “Just seeing these two children makes me happy!”
After leaving the Propaganda Department office, Qin Yu’e walked slowly down the road, holding one child in each hand.
The two children had already eaten lunch at Wei Wenjie’s place and were now incredibly obedient.
Then she overheard several women discussing quietly nearby.
“Section Chief Wei is really pitiful. She got injured when she was younger and can’t have children. Now that she’s older, whenever I see her around kids, the smile on her face is completely genuine.”
“Exactly. She’s lived her whole life without children. At her age now, she’s stopped expecting anything. She just enjoys looking at other people’s children.”
Qin Yu’e’s heart suddenly tightened.
She’d already felt that Wei Wenjie’s love for children seemed unusually intense.
So this was why…
She couldn’t help feeling sympathy.
In her previous life, she herself had suffered from polycystic ovary syndrome and had never been able to have children either. Before dying suddenly from overwork in her thirties, she’d always wanted to play with any child she saw.
Wei Wenjie was even older than she had been.
The longing in her heart must have been even stronger.
“Mom, why do they say Auntie Wei is pitiful?” Zhuyue asked with wide eyes.
“Because Auntie Wei can’t have children of her own, so…” Qin Yu’e realized the topic was too heavy for a child and quickly changed her wording. “Because Auntie Wei likes Zhuyue very much, but Zhuyue isn’t her child.”
“That’s easy then!”
The little girl immediately waved her tiny hand excitedly.
“From now on, I’ll be Auntie Wei’s child too! I’ll call Mom ‘Mom,’ and I’ll call Auntie Wei ‘Godmother!’ Back in our village, Goudan even recognized Aunt Dashu as his godmother!”
Children’s minds didn’t have all the complicated twists adults did.
But her innocent words suddenly gave Qin Yu’e an entirely new idea.
Her children clearly weren’t favored by Huo Guangji. But if they acknowledged Wei Wenjie as their godmother, then at least within the military camp, nobody would dare openly bully them in the future.
Immediately, Qin Yu’e broke into a bright smile and lifted Zhuyue into her arms.
“Then tomorrow, when Zhuyue goes to see Auntie Wei again, you’ll call her Godmother, okay?”
“Okay!”
The weeds on the back mountain grew thick and wild, swarming with mosquitoes and insects.
Qin Yu’e braided mugwort into small rings and tied them around the children’s heads and ankles, warning them to stay on the hillside and not run around.
Only then did she fasten a rope around her own waist and carefully begin feeling her way down the steep slope toward the stream below.
Just moments earlier, she had discovered this small ravine in the mountains.
The riverbank was thick with reeds and weeds, making it difficult to notice.
But places like this were favorites for wild ducks and waterfowl.
They gathered here in groups to lay and hatch eggs. Once the ducklings grew older, the mother ducks would lead them downstream to live.
The problem was that the terrain here was extremely steep and difficult to approach, which was why Qin Yu’e had left the children waiting above on the hillside.
Fortunately, both children were very obedient and stayed quietly beside the basket without running around.
The vine rope tied around Qin Yu’e’s waist rubbed painfully against her skin.
Gritting her teeth, she carefully stepped on loose rocks and slowly slid downward.
The smooth stone slope was frighteningly steep, and because of the dampness, thick moss covered much of the rock surface.
Suddenly—
Qin Yu’e stepped onto a patch of moss.
Her footing slipped violently.
Her body plunged downward at once.