Xiao Hua's words were truly like tearing out his flesh and heart. He Yan felt his heart clench with pain. The best punishment for someone is to neither love nor hate them, to treat them as a stranger, and to have no feelings for them whatsoever.

Xiao Hua firmly believes that hating someone is a constant drain on oneself. Her teaching to Kang An is that you can dislike that person, but you shouldn't hate them, and you should refuse to drain yourself.

"Xiaohua, I won't say anything more, even if it's wrong, but I will show you with my actions, and one day you will change your mind."

He Yan secretly vowed to himself that as a soldier, he would not lose a battle, and he would not lose this battle of love either.

"It's up to you, but I want to tell you something: everything you do is of your own free will. The child and I don't owe you anything. Being good to the child is your responsibility and obligation. Whether the child has feelings for you as his father in the future is the child's own business and has nothing to do with me."

Xiao Hua was very clear about it, afraid that her words and actions might give He Yan the wrong impression.

He Yan originally wanted to drive Xiao Hua to her cousin's place so that she could rest, take a shower, and get a good night's sleep before going to the hospital, but Xiao Hua didn't want to have too much contact with his family.

She refused to go directly to the hospital, and as for Kang An, she didn't want to interfere with her contact with the He family.

Ultimately, He Yan is the child's biological father, and He Yan's family will also be the child's family in the future. Since she has let He Yan acknowledge the child, she naturally won't interfere with whether the child is close to his family or not.

Sometimes, it's not that Xiaohua doesn't approach the He family, but that the He family won't take the initiative to approach her.

The next day, He Yan's cousin and her husband brought Kang An and their own child to the hospital to visit Ye Dazhuang.

"Xiaohua, this is my cousin He Yu, and my cousin-in-law Zhang Xiang."

The moment Xiaohua saw He Yan's cousin-in-law Zhang Xiang, she instinctively called out, "Teacher Zhang."

"Huh? You two know each other?"

He Yan and He Yu asked in unison.

Zhang Xiang was also surprised, pointing to himself and Xiao Hua and asking with a smile, "Do we know each other?"

When He Yan got married, his cousin and cousin-in-law did not come, and they did not know Xiao Hua.

Zhang Xiang was Xiao Hua's physics teacher at Fudan University in her previous life. He was gentle and refined. Although he was old in his previous life, he was still very charming, and the girls all liked him very much.

Back then, he had a long class every week at school. Xiaohua loved physics. Although she studied computer science in her previous life, she chose physics as an elective. She had to attend any of Professor Zhang's classes.

Professor Zhang also liked her very much. He once tried to persuade her to change her major, wanted to take her on as his disciple, and even promised to recommend her for postgraduate studies at the same university. However, Xiaohua did not change her major in order to get a high salary in a big company in the future.

She has always been very interested in physics.

Xiaohua quickly explained with a smile, "I think my brother-in-law has a teacher-like demeanor."

Fortunately, He Yan had already introduced his brother-in-law's surname and given name at the beginning, otherwise how could she explain it to them?

You could say he has the air of a teacher, but you can't exactly tell people, "I think your brother-in-law has the air of someone surnamed Zhang."

"Sister-in-law, you have a good eye. I am indeed a teacher."

Compared to the older Professor Zhang, the young Professor Zhang had more vigor but less maturity. When Xiao Hua looked at Professor Zhang in his old age, she thought he must have been very handsome when he was young. Sure enough, the young Professor Zhang was indeed very handsome.

Xiao Hua suddenly remembered that Professor Zhang was hired by Fudan University in Shanghai to teach physics after 2000.

Ten years later, Xiaohua remembered his resume: before Fudan University, he taught at Beihang University.

It's quite a coincidence that her favorite teacher turned out to be He Yan's cousin-in-law.

Xiao Hua smiled modestly and said, "A teacher's temperament is always unique and easy to recognize."

"Oh, then what kind of temperament do you think a teacher has?"

People are all about first impressions. Zhang Xiang inexplicably took a liking to his sister-in-law at first sight. This liking was not the kind of liking you might think; it was the kind of liking where he found the girl very interesting, fascinating, and admirable.

"A scholarly air, the air of someone well-read and knowledgeable." Xiaohua praised without reservation.

This amused He Yan's cousin and her husband, making them very happy.

After seeing Ye Dazhuang, He Yu pulled He Yan aside and whispered in his ear, "I heard from my family that Xiao Hua is illiterate, but when I see her, her speech and demeanor seem very learned. She doesn't seem like an illiterate person at all."

He Yan glanced at Xiao Hua, who was playing with the two children in the distance, and his eyes were filled with tenderness.

"That was before. Xiaohua has been very studious these past few years. She has been diligently studying many things, from astronomy to geography. There's nothing she doesn't love to learn. She took the college entrance examination this summer as an adult. She said she did well and should be able to get into a very good university. So now she can be considered well-read."

When talking about his wife, He Yan was full of pride. Everyone has a tendency to admire strength, not just women, but men as well. A woman who is knowledgeable, elegant, capable, and thoughtful will be admired not only by other women but also by men.

Of course, there are also some men who are both incompetent and morally bankrupt who would slander others.

"Really! Xiaohua is amazing. He Yan, you've struck gold! I thought Xiaohua was a great girl at first glance. I don't know why Aunt and He Ya belittled her on the phone, thinking she was terrible."

"They didn't bother to understand Xiaohua at all. People who constantly bring up their family background and social standing, do you think they have the eye to appreciate others?"

He Yan felt a surge of anger when he thought of his mother and sister. If it weren't for their messy actions back then, Xiao Hua wouldn't hate him so much now.

Although he didn't like Xiaohua a few years ago, he was never the kind of irresponsible person. If he had known that Xiaohua had given birth, he would definitely have taken the mother and daughter with him to the army, instead of leaving them out there and not caring about them.

Ultimately, the biggest mistake lies with himself. Blaming everything on his mother and sister is simply an act of escaping his own errors!

"What they think of Xiaohua is not important. You two are the ones living your lives. As long as you appreciate your own wife and think she is great, that's enough. The opinions of your mother-in-law and sister-in-law on your sister-in-law are not worth caring about."

Speaking of Su Qin and He Ya, He Yu actually looked down on them to some extent. They had no intellectual depth whatsoever, and chatting with them was always about showing off, comparing, and belittling others. No wonder her uncle, Commander He, rarely went home.

Although He Yu is not He Yan's biological sister, He Yan liked He Yu much more than He Ya when they were young. Whenever he had something on his mind or something he couldn't resolve, he liked to talk to He Yu, and she could always give him some good insights.

Thinking of Xiaohua's resistance to him, and remembering his father telling him to learn from experienced people, He Yu and Zhang Xiang had always had a good relationship, so they might be very experienced in managing their marriage and family.

"Sister, I have something I'd like to ask you for advice or suggestions on," He Yan said somewhat awkwardly.