Li Ying was wondering how to reply to Aunt Jing when she heard someone greet her. Looking in the direction of the voice, she saw Ye Jingchi stride into the living room. He was wearing a beige jacket with a white shirt, and his straight trousers accentuated his long, straight legs. It seemed like his legs stretched out from his chin all the way down.
"Why is he here?" Mrs. Jing asked, displeased.
Li Ying's expression was indifferent, neither sad nor happy, like an outsider watching everything that was happening before her eyes.
Jing Yingyan hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
"Commander Ye, please forgive me for not welcoming you properly!"
"Stop with the nonsense! No matter what, we're family. It's not unreasonable for me to come and celebrate Mrs. Jing's birthday, is it?"
Ye Jingchi walked straight toward Mrs. Jing as he spoke.
Jing Yingyan twitched the corner of his mouth and followed.
"Aunt Jing, happy birthday!" Ye Jingchi presented a sandalwood box.
As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face. Since someone has come to your door to give you a gift, it wouldn't be right to refuse.
Mrs. Jing took the box, her tone neither warm nor cold: "It's my fifty-third birthday, and my children, being filial, insisted on throwing me a family banquet. I didn't expect Commander Ye to be so thoughtful!"
A family dinner?!
Ye Jingchi's gaze lingered on Li Ying for a moment, a smile appearing on his face: "Jing Yingyan calls my mother 'Auntie,' so we're cousins. So, as your nephew celebrating your birthday, I'm not an outsider, am I?"
Mrs. Jing couldn't be too aloof: "You're absolutely right, everything you said is correct!"
"Mom, don't get angry with Commander Ye. He's not very bright." Jing Yingyan said with a double meaning, indirectly scolding Ye Jingchi.
Ye Jingchi didn't care, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally falling on Li Ying, making Li Ying roll her eyes. She helped Mrs. Jing and said, "Aunt Jing, I'll go for a walk with you and let them chat."
"Okay, okay."
Mrs. Jing led Li Ying out of the living room.
Jing Yingyan crossed his arms: "What brings you here?"
"Give me a topographic map of Yanshan."
Ye Jingchi got straight to the point.
"That mountainous area is all swamp. What do you need a map of that place for?"
"You don't need to worry about it. You led your troops into that swamp before, so you're familiar with the terrain, right? Draw me the map! I need it tonight!" Ye Jingchi didn't allow Jing Yingyan to refuse.
Jing Yingyan laughed loudly: "Ye Jingchi, you're getting impatient!"
"Enough talk, I need to see the blueprints tonight!"
Ye Jingchi left after saying that.
Jing Yingyan gently shook his head: "Keep pretending, you'll regret it someday!"
After lunch, Li Ying chatted with Mrs. Jing for a while before being personally seen off by Jing Yingyan.
"Let's go back, Zhou Qi's car is waiting outside."
"Slow down."
Li Ying waved her hand, and not far away she saw Ye Jingchi leaning against the jeep, lazily smoking. When he saw Li Ying, he stubbed out his cigarette, shook his head, and threw it away.
"Commander Ye, you have so much free time?" Li Ying stepped forward and asked indifferently and aloofly.
"I'm busy."
"oh."
Li Ying turned around.
"You like Jing Yingyan?"
Li Ying stopped in her tracks, turned around, stared at Ye Jingchi's eyes that held the power of a tsunami, and nodded slightly: "I like him! He's handsome, gentle, and considerate. Most importantly, he's straightforward and simple."
Ye Jingchi almost broke down, "Yes, a refined scoundrel."
Li Ying rolled her eyes at Ye Jingchi, wondering who was the refined scoundrel.
"I just like refined scoundrels."
It was intentional, Li Ying definitely did it on purpose.
Ye Jingchi suppressed his irritation, his smile not reaching his eyes.
"Li Ying, only a foolish woman would marry while pregnant!"
"Commander Ye, foolish women only cling to their fallen husbands and never remarry. But I am not a foolish woman; I am a woman of the new era. I have the right to choose my own life, and I can boldly pursue everything that belongs to me. Therefore, Commander Ye, please do not discriminate against women!"
After Li Ying finished speaking, she turned around, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.
If you deliberately seek out trouble, then don't blame her for saying hurtful things.
Ye Jingchi almost broke the car keys in his hand.
Back home, Sang Zhi sat in her bedroom with a bowl of brewed medicine on the table.
Hearing footsteps, Sang Zhi hurriedly wiped away her tears.
Ye Jingchi walked to the table, picked up the medicine bowl, drank it down in one gulp, and then, noticing the tear stains at the corner of Sang Zhi's eyes, put the bowl down.
"You cried?"
Sang Zhi quickly shook her head: "No, you must have mistaken me."
"If you feel wronged, you don't have to do it. Don't make it seem like I'm forcing you into prostitution." Ye Jingchi threw down the car keys in frustration.
"Commander Ye, that's not what I meant. Please don't be angry. You saved my life. I'll do whatever you ask without complaint!"
"Alright, you can go now! Remember not to secretly wipe away your tears next time. If you really want to cry, go outside to the riverbank and cry as loudly as you want."
Sang Zhi nodded: "I understand."
Sang Zhi came out carrying a bowl, and Chun Xue happened to see her.
Has the poison in Ye Jingchi's body not been cleared yet?
Realizing this, Chunxue clenched her fists, wondering if she should find an opportunity to strike.
After Li Ying attended Mrs. Jing's birthday banquet, Yang Mei forbade her from going out again. Even though she knew that her body was in danger of miscarriage, she still went around running around.
"You really don't take care of yourself! What if something happens to you?!"
"Mom, it's okay. I know my own body. I'm not prone to miscarriage. Even if I fall a few times, it'll be fine," Li Ying assured her.
Aunt Yang chimed in, "Ying is right. There was a young woman in my village who was pregnant. Her family was so afraid of upsetting her that they brought her meals inside. One day, she accidentally touched a shovel that had fallen over in the yard and miscarried."
Li Ying nodded: "The kind of person Aunt Yang mentioned is someone with a congenital tendency to miscarry, and they need to take extra precautions to ensure the baby is okay. I'm different; I'm in good health."
"That won't work either. Listen to Mom, stay home for now."
"Okay, at home."
It was another full moon night. Li Ying was having trouble sleeping because of the bright moonlight. Hearing a noise at the door, she put on her coat, opened the door, and the moonlight spilled into the courtyard, casting shadows everywhere and conveying the tranquility of the deep night.
The familiar scent wafted into her nostrils on the wind, and Li Ying realized that Ye Jingchi had been there; there was still a faint smell of tobacco in the air.
Li Ying straightened her clothes, turned around and went back to her room, where she lay down.
Ye Jingchi, how can I save this fragile love between us?
Even though she knew he must have his own reasons, she still couldn't help but blame him for his self-righteousness.
Li Ying got up early, ate breakfast, and then stayed in the yard to read.
Seeing Zhou Qi standing at the door, seemingly hesitant to speak, she put down her book and raised her hand: "Zhou Qi, come here!"
Zhou Qi lingered as he approached Li Ying: "Miss Ying, I've found out where Miss Hua Qingqing is. But I don't want to talk about it."
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