Chapter 4 Dad will protect you from heaven

Chapter 4

Seeing his subordinate react with such a startled expression.

This displeased Qi Donghan greatly, especially since she was grabbing his arm; this kind of physical contact made Qi Donghan very unhappy.

He didn't speak, but simply looked down at the other person's hands, his gaze penetratingly sharp.

Qi Changming subconsciously withdrew his hand.

Qi Changming was practically bowing with his hands clasped together.

Qi Donghan straightened the wrinkles on his sleeves and said in a cold tone, "Speak properly."

He was wearing a shirt, buttoned all the way to the top, extremely neat. But the bulging muscles beneath the shirt were chilling to behold.

Just like him, he was like a beast poised to pounce.

Qi Changming was startled when he saw him like this and instinctively stood up straight, but he hadn't quite recovered his composure yet.

He was clearly still stunned by the news that Meng Yingying wanted to come and stay with him to get married.

Even his tone was incoherent.

"Boss, my childhood sweetheart from the countryside, who's dark-skinned and chubby, is coming to ask me to marry her. I have no desire to marry her!"

He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth, "What should I do? How can I get away from her?"

Qi Donghan frowned as he extracted the key point from the pile of nonsense and asked succinctly, "Is your childhood sweetheart coming to see you?"

He spoke with a scrutinizing gaze, carrying a cold, intimidating force.

He immediately swallowed back the words Qi Changming was about to ramble on, and after a long while, he finally replied, "Yes."

I'd like to explain a couple more points about his predicament.

Qi Donghan grew impatient and dragged him out of the call center. Only after they were outside did he coldly ask, "Are you sure you want to talk here?"

Qi Changming realized something too; there were seven or eight people in the resident call center, and they were all watching him make a scene.

His face flushed, and remembering that the call center was the most gossipy place, he took a few more steps outside, as if to avoid suspicion.

With no outsiders around, Qi Changming cautiously observed Qi Donghan, even he was momentarily dazed.

It's just that our boss's appearance is so outstanding that people often overlook his abilities.

"Boss, I really don't know what to do. Can you help me think of a solution?"

"I want to break off the engagement with her, and I don't want her to come looking for me."

Clearly, the prospect of a childhood betrothal had thrown Qi Changming into disarray.

Seeing him like this, Qi Donghan frowned even more deeply. He had wheat-colored skin, three-dimensional features, sharp angles, and a cold, oppressive aura.

"Since it was an arranged marriage, how can you break it off?"

"Qi Changming's marriage contract is a promise, and a promise should be kept. Soldiers should be true to their word."

Qi Changming suppressed his fear of Qi Donghan and argued, "Boss, this isn't about breaking off an engagement. It's a new era now, everyone values ​​free love. Arranging marriages between children is feudal dregs! If it's feudal dregs, then it should be abandoned."

"Boss, you don't want my bright future to be ruined by the daughter of a butcher."

Qi Donghan didn't speak, but quietly observed his subordinate.

He stood against the light, so much so that his eyebrows and eyes were almost transparent in the dappled light and shadow.

Those eyes were focused and powerful, seemingly able to see through everything.

Just when Qi Changming was about to give up.

Qi Donghan then said coldly, "Qi Changming, how far a man can go in the garrison depends on his own abilities, not on the wife he marries."

"If marrying a wife can determine your ceiling in the military, then I can only say—"

"It's because you're too useless."

The merciless words made Qi Changming's face turn pale instantly. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to explain.

Qi Changming regretted it; he shouldn't have asked Qi Donghan for help.

After all, everyone in the garrison knows that their leader is the most upright person, and he doesn't tolerate any injustice.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Qi Donghan knew that he hadn't listened and didn't think there was anything wrong with his actions.

He stood there casually, sunlight filtering through the coconut trees and falling on his face. Instead of making him any more gentle, it made him appear cold and rough, with legs that looked two meters and eighty centimeters long.

He simply ended the conversation, saying, "We'll meet at the training ground in ten minutes. Anyone who's late will have to run ten kilometers as punishment."

After saying that, he didn't even look at Qi Changming's reaction.

Qi Donghan strode away, leaving behind a gust of wind, just like the man himself.

Qi Changming was left standing there, drenched in cold sweat.

It's over.

It seems he offended his boss.

He didn't dump Meng Yingying either.

*

The Meng family.

After making the phone call at the supply and marketing cooperative, Meng Baichuan's long conversation made him feel unwell again, and the intense pain made him feel like he was about to have a spasm.

His pained expression startled Meng Yingying. She quickly helped Meng Baichuan up, saying, "Dad, hang in there. There are still painkillers at home. I'll take you back to take your medicine now."

In his later years, Meng Baichuan could only get through the days with the help of painkillers.

Meng Baichuan tried to comfort his daughter, but it was no use. The pain made his throat feel like it had been split open, and the sounds he made were all lost.

It wasn't until I got home.

Meng Yingying, her hands trembling, fed Meng Baichuan the painkillers. Then, she looked at him anxiously and asked, "Dad, are you feeling any better?"

Meng Baichuan was still in pain, so much so that he couldn't speak. Besides, how could painkillers work so quickly?

However, not wanting his daughter to worry, he nodded, "Much better."

Meng Yingying instantly understood something. She murmured, "Dad, let's go to the hospital for another checkup. Maybe it's a misdiagnosis, or maybe there are other solutions."

"If it's a misdiagnosis, how about we go see another good doctor?"

Meng Baichuan gave a wry smile. "Yingying, Dad has already been to three different hospitals for this illness."

"The doctors all say there's no hope. Instead of throwing money away, it's better to leave the money for you to rely on."

Upon hearing this, Meng Yingying wore an expression that seemed to be both crying and not crying; she couldn't speak.

She simply lowered her head, revealing a section of her slender, white neck, which looked very fragile.

"I don't want to!"

"I'll take you to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow."

She refused to give up and didn't want to accept her fate.

Meng Baichuan refused. He knew very well that his illness was incurable, and every penny spent on him would be a waste.

"It's nothing, no need to go to the hospital, it's a waste of money."

Meng Baichuan was panting heavily, his clothes soaked with cold sweat, and his body was convulsing uncontrollably. "Yingying, go and get me three more painkillers."

Normally, you can only take one painkiller at a time, but Meng Baichuan had already taken two, so he had to take three more.

Hearing this, Meng Yingying shuddered. "Dad, you can't take painkillers like that."

"It's really impossible."

She clutched the small white medicine bottle, backing away until her knuckles turned white from gripping it so tightly.

"Yingying, give it to me."

The sounds were like beads from a broken string, scattered everywhere, impossible to pick up.

Seeing her father's contorted pain, Meng Yingying finally softened.

She handed him the medicine bottle and watched helplessly as Meng Baichuan poured the medicine with trembling hands, swallowing three painkillers with great difficulty.

After taking the painkiller, Meng Baichuan closed his eyes and rested for a while before he looked a little more comfortable. With his eyes closed, he said, "Go to sleep, I'll rest for a bit too."

Sending telegrams and making phone calls all day was already a torment for Meng Baichuan, whose lifespan was not long.

How could Meng Yingying dare to sleep separately from him? She took a bedding from her own room and spread it on Meng Baichuan's large kang (heated brick bed).

"Dad, I'll sleep with you. If I feel unwell at night, you can stay with me."

This time, Meng Baichuan didn't refuse; he just looked at his daughter with a kind expression.

For him, every glance is one less chance to see them.

That night, the father and daughter lay together on the kang (a heated brick bed). Meng Baichuan had taken painkillers and was no longer in so much pain, so he spoke to Meng Yingying intermittently.

“Yingying, since you don’t plan to leave now, then Dad will teach you how to handle your affairs after you’re gone.”

“I didn’t dare keep any money at home; I deposited all my money in the credit union.”

He turned over and took out a thin stub from the cabinet. "This is all our family's savings. We only have 473.55 yuan left. When you go to join Qi Xiaoer in the army, keep this money close to your body."

He seemed somewhat melancholy, but he had to say, "This money is from Qi Xiaoer. Don't tell anyone, this is the money your father left you to save your life. What if Qi Xiaoer treats you badly in the future?"

He paused, then said with a pained expression, "Then you can just run away with the money."

"Yingying, I'm sorry." Meng Baichuan's voice was tinged with sadness and guilt. "Dad won't be able to protect you then, so you have to take good care of yourself."

Originally, this was his responsibility.

It's not his daughter's responsibility.

Meng Yingying was saddened by what he said. She took her father's hand and gently placed it on her pillow. "Dad, I learned some skills in the propaganda team. I will try to find a formal job later, Dad."

She said softly, "Don't worry about me."

"Yes, I know my little Yingying has always been the most well-behaved." Meng Baichuan coughed lightly.

"And this house, you can't keep it. After thinking it over, I've decided to have your third uncle keep it for now, nominally under his name, so that we can get rid of you."

"Once you marry Qi Xiaoer and become a military dependent, you can come back and put the house in your own name."

Giving the house to Uncle Meng was just a temporary measure.

Meng Yingying looked up, her doe eyes clear and innocent. "Dad, the house can't be given to Uncle San. It's not that I don't trust Uncle San, but Uncle San and you are brothers, and there's Grandma above us."

"If my grandma wants to stay at my third uncle's house then, will my third uncle be able to refuse?"

this--

Meng Baichuan immediately fell silent.

He hadn't thought of that; he only thought that the third brother was someone he could trust.

"But there's no one else besides the third brother." He frowned. "Are we going to transfer the house to Qi Xiao'er ahead of schedule?"

“In that case, the house will be in his name, and you two will be a couple.” Before he could finish speaking, Meng Yingying interrupted him, “That’s even more unacceptable.”

If she transfers the property to Qi Xiaoer but doesn't marry him, isn't that like throwing good money after bad?

"Dad, let me think about the house some more." She actually had someone in mind.

But do you know if the other party agrees?

She could only seek the other party's consent before making any further plans.

Seeing that she had made a plan.

Meng Baichuan tentatively suggested, "Since you've already made plans for the house, why don't you settle it ahead of time and leave earlier?"

Still unwilling to give up, she let her daughter leave early.

Upon hearing this, Meng Yingying turned around angrily, turned her back to Meng Baichuan, and pulled the blanket over herself from head to toe, hiding herself completely.

She didn't want to talk to him.

Seeing that his daughter was still the same as when she was a child, Meng Baichuan was both amused and exasperated. He reached into the cabinet, took out a White Rabbit milk candy, and gently pushed it next to Meng Yingying.

"Alright, Yingying, don't be angry anymore. Daddy won't let you run away anymore. How about you see Daddy off on his final journey?"

Only then did Meng Yingying's blanket loosen a little.

As if performing a magic trick, Meng Baichuan beckoned to her, "Look what Dad bought for you when he went to the supply and marketing cooperative today!"

Meng Yingying didn't speak, but snorted.

Meng Baichuan peeled off the candy coating, struggled to his feet, and held the White Rabbit milk candy to Meng Yingying's lips. "Smell it, is it sweet?"

Meng Yingying was trying to lose weight, but the sweet smell under her nose triggered a primal bodily reaction, and she leaned in to eat it.

The milk candy melts in your mouth, and the sweetness and milky flavor instantly explode on your tongue. The milky flavor is especially strong; you can only say that people in this era really use the finest ingredients to make things.

This was the most delicious food Meng Yingying had eaten since arriving in the 1970s; it was so sweet it could melt anyone's heart.

She couldn't bear to swallow it, so she held it in her mouth, savoring it little by little, like a little squirrel with her cheeks puffing out. "Dad, when did you buy it?"

She and her boyfriend were together the whole time, so why didn't I see his dad buying milk candy?

"When you go to the toilet."

Meng Baichuan smiled, and despite his weakness, he clumsily opened the cabinet and took out a bag of White Rabbit milk candy wrapped in kraft paper.

"Exactly one pound, a total of sixty-three pieces."

Such a fierce person, with scars on his face, looks terrifying.

But at this moment, his face was gentle and kind. He painstakingly peeled off the candy wrapper, watching Meng Yingying eat it with his own hands.

He then smiled contentedly, "Yingying, this is the last time Daddy will take you to buy candy."

"If you miss your dad in the future, just eat one."

“You ate the candy, and it sweetened Dad’s heart. Dad would be very happy even down there.”

Meng Yingying's eyes stung, and she dared not look up.

At that moment, even the sweetness in my mouth had a hint of bitterness, and that bitterness turned into a surging wave of sorrow.

Meng Baichuan seemed to know everything. He raised his hand and gently turned his daughter's face back to him, wanting to look at her again and remember her appearance.

Even when he crosses the Bridge of Helplessness and drinks the Meng Po soup, he will not forget his daughter.

Seeing her daughter crying silently, tears fell like pearls.

Meng Baichuan's heart clenched suddenly. He used his rough hands to wipe away the tears from the corners of Meng Yingying's eyes. His gaze was gentle and reluctant. "Yingying, don't be afraid. Daddy will protect you from heaven."

A note from the author:

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I revised the dialogue between the female lead and her father in the previous chapter; you can read it again!

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