Mei Yanting wasn't particularly beautiful, but she wasn't ugly either. In a low-class bar like this, all sorts of people came and went. A girl sitting alone at the bar drinking naturally attracted the attention of some men, who then harbored desires for her.
At first, Mei Yanting refused to drink from anyone, focusing only on herself. However, she knew absolutely nothing about alcohol and drank heavily and in large quantities, soon becoming quite drunk. In the end, she was almost completely unconscious.
Those who had been eyeing her as prey seized the opportunity to take her away. At this point, don't expect anyone to help stop them; these were mostly people looking for fun, and nobody had the time to meddle in other people's business.
Mei Yanting was tormented all night, and when she woke up the next day, her body was covered in bruises, and her genitals were severely swollen and painful to walk. But she was alone in the cheap hotel room, and she didn't even know who to complain to. She could only cry in bed, and when it was time to check out, the owner kicked her out.
Mei Yanting was supposed to go to work the next day, but she was absent without cause. Xia Mo's assistant spoke to her rudely on the phone, which only fueled Mei Yanting's resentment.
She hadn't completely lost her mind. Whether Xia Mo pitied her or not, this job was crucial to her. She had no education or skills, and finding another job wouldn't be easy, so she couldn't just leave in a huff.
From that day on, she became increasingly silent. Sometimes she would stare at people, as if everyone wore a hypocritical mask. She was terribly thin, making her eyes appear large and unsettling, which made people dislike her even more. She, in turn, found everyone more disagreeable, but she had to endure it for the sake of making a living.
Ling Ruoke's life had been disrupted by the affair between Mei Yanting and Chen Shan, and she had been saddened for quite some time before gradually letting go. Chen Shan had even come over for a meal, seemingly having moved on. Since the parties involved had already moved on, there was no reason for her, as an outsider, to remain entangled.
That evening, the family of three was playing in bed. The couple chatted while occasionally talking to and playing with their son.
Xiao Ping'an is now a year and a half old. Although he doesn't speak fluently yet, he has learned quite a few words. Sometimes when he says them, it makes everyone laugh until their stomachs hurt. However, at least he has made progress and no longer calls other people "Dad," otherwise Huo Qingfeng would be furious.
Little Ping An got tired of playing and was hungry. Like a little leopard, he crawled over, lifted his mother's clothes, and crawled inside to drink milk.
Huo Qingfeng frowned upon seeing this, recalling a recent conversation with his wife. "Honey, didn't you say he'd be weaned at one and a half? He's over one and a half now! No, we have to wean him right away!"
As he spoke, he was about to go and drag his son out.
Ling Ruoke quickly reached out to stop him. "Weaning needs to be planned; it can't be done on a whim."
Huo Qingfeng was unhappy, but looked at his wife with a wronged expression and said, "Wife, you're being unfair! Do you not want to wean him and just let him keep drinking until you run out of milk?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Ling Ruoke reached out and slapped him. This guy is becoming more and more childish, it's driving me crazy.
"But you promised to wean him when he was a year and a half old! He's been taking over my place for so long, he has to give it back!" This was how the leader taught him to defend his territory with righteous indignation!
Ling Ruoke reached out and touched his chin. "Alright. I'll talk to my sister-in-law tomorrow and ask her if she has any good ideas on how to wean him, okay?"
"That's more like it!" Huo Qingfeng was finally happy and rubbed his wife's neck vigorously.
Little Ping'an lifted his head from his mother's chest and stared intently at his father. He seemed to understand that his father had just tried to cut off his milk! But after staring for a while, unsure if it was just his imagination, he went back to drinking his milk.
Ling Ruoke checked online and found that breast milk production decreases after 8 months, so weaning is indeed necessary. The next day, she discussed it with her sister-in-law, who suggested trying to introduce formula to the baby first, as abrupt weaning wouldn't work.
Ling Ruoke then tried mixing breast milk with formula to feed him, hoping he would get used to the taste of the formula. But Xiao Ping'an was a picky eater; at first, he wouldn't drink it, refusing to even look at the milk in the bottle. He cried and tried to pull open his mother's clothes to drink the milk.
It wasn't until this moment that Ling Ruoke realized she had indeed messed things up! But a child is a mother's heart and soul; how could a mother not feel heartbroken seeing him cry so hysterically? So she fed him again, comforting herself by saying things would be alright.
Later, her neighbor told her a new method, suggesting that she could apply colored medicine to her nipples so that he would be scared and stop eating.
Ling Ruoke thought it sounded really effective, so after taking a shower that night, she actually applied the medicine to her nipples. It was purple, and the large, purplish patch looked quite frightening.
Huo Qingfeng couldn't help but laugh when he saw it, saying, "I guess he really won't drink milk anymore. This thing terrifies me."
Unfortunately, they all underestimated their son's determination to drink milk.
Sure enough, after playing for a while, Xiao Ping'an came running over to nurse. But when he lifted her clothes and saw that dark patch, he was dumbfounded. He stared at it for a long time, then looked up at his mother, as if asking what was going on. Then he turned to look at his father, as if to say: Did you do something wrong?
The couple suppressed a laugh as they watched him. Ling Ruoke touched his cheek and said, "You can't drink milk anymore. Look, this is dirty, you can't eat it!"
Little Ping An kept making "uh-huh" sounds, getting anxious. This was his food; how could he not eat it! He paced anxiously, sweat beading on his forehead. Suddenly, he looked up and saw a bright light. He stretched out his little arm and called out, "Uh-huh light, light..."
This was something Ling Ruoke taught him; he knew that the white, glowing thing was a lamp.
Huo Qingfeng and Ling Ruoke were puzzled until their son uttered the word "shut" again. They then realized he wanted to turn off the light. Although they didn't know why he wanted to turn off the light, Huo Qingfeng still reached out and turned it off.
Then, to the couple's astonishment, their son sat in the dark for a while, then reached out and pulled open his mother's clothes before leaning over to drink milk!
Fortunately, the medicine she applied was harmless!
And so, the method of applying the medicine failed.
Later, another sister-in-law gave a good idea: apply Coptis chinensis juice to the nipple. Coptis chinensis is bitter, and children are afraid of bitterness, so they dare not eat it.
Ling Ruoke did as she was told. As a result, Xiao Ping'an pulled open his clothes, tasted the bitter flavor as soon as he put it in his mouth, and hurriedly spat it out, his face scrunched up like a bun.
Huo Qingfeng and Ling Ruoke were secretly delighted, thinking they had finally found a way. However, before their joy could even subside, Xiao Ping'an created another surprise. He paused for a moment, then pounced on the milk again. He sipped it with a frown, but after a while, the bitterness of the coptis was masked by the sweetness of the milk. As he drank, he glared at his father, as if to say: "Little brat, you're still a long way from outmatching me!"
Huo Qingfeng and Ling Ruoke exchanged a glance, unsure whether to be proud of their child's intelligence or troubled by his strong determination to drink milk!
After cutting off contact for half a month, there was still no effect. Ling Ruoke was anxious, Huo Qingfeng was even more anxious, and the little brat was very smug.
That day, Ling Ruoke and Li Jun cooked a meal to entertain the men from both families and his soldiers. Little Ping'an was a lively and energetic person, and he was naturally happy to have so many uncles playing with him.
After dinner, the adults sat together chatting. Ling Ruoke and Li Jun were playing with He Beibei, while Xiao Ping'an was playing on the carpet by himself, muttering something to himself.
While playing, he suddenly lunged forward, throwing himself into his mother's arms, whether he was hungry or just remembered her.
Ling Ruoke reached out and caught him, letting him stand between her legs. He usually did this; when he got tired of playing, he would come to his mother's arms and babble to her.
However, this time the son made a bold move, which finally prompted his father to harden his heart and cut off his food supply!
Little Ping An reached out and pulled at his mother's clothes.
Luckily, Ruoke reacted quickly and grabbed it. Otherwise, with several men present, it would have been incredibly embarrassing. Her pretty face turned bright red, and although no one had seen her quick action, the thought of it still made her feel incredibly awkward.
Li Jun laughed heartily, almost laughing until his stomach hurt. He thought to himself, "This kid is just like a little wolf cub!"
Huo Qingfeng was so angry his face turned green. He strode over and slapped his son's bottom twice! It was one thing for him to cry for milk, but to pull at his wife's clothes in front of others was simply outrageous!
And so, the weaning plan for little Ping An and Huo Feiyang became urgent. His father was unwilling to tolerate him for even a minute longer; weaning had to start immediately, no questions asked!
Later, the couple discussed it. As long as Ruoke was around, it was absolutely impossible to wean the little one. After all, he was still young, and if he cried loudly, his mother's heart would soften and she wouldn't be able to bear it! After discussing it, they decided to let Ruoke leave for a week, so that he wouldn't see her and would stop crying after a couple of days.
As for Ruoke leaving, the child will be entrusted to Li Jun, and a sister-in-law has been asked to help look after him. Although they are a little worried and reluctant to part with the child, he can't keep drinking milk like this forever. Besides, this is a military base, so it's safe and there shouldn't be any major problems.
Now that things are arranged here, it's time to ask where Ling Ruoke will go. Although she left to wean her child, she also wants to do some things that she should have done but had been put on hold for various reasons.
After much deliberation, Ling Ruoke decided to go to T City. She wanted to see Yuan Meng and Zhuang Yicheng. Although she believed that as long as one was alive, there was nothing to fear, she still wanted to witness it with her own eyes.
And so, Ling Ruoke packed her bags and left the army for T City. As for Xiao Ping'an, he was about to begin his miserable weaning period. His father didn't want to spoil him like his mother did, so he was expected to suffer terribly for the next week.
Ling Ruoke can stay at Tan Peishi's house for one night, and then take a flight to T City the next morning. This time she has plenty of time, so there's no need to rush.
Lying in bed that night, Tan Peishi started talking about Mei Yanting. Although Tan Peishi didn't go to work at the company, she would still hang around there from time to time, so she knew some of the details.
Ling Ruoke paused, and after a long pause, she said, "Everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions, and they can't blame others."
“That’s true. Let’s not mention her anymore. She’s not worth mentioning.” Tan Peishi already disliked Mei Yanting, and now she loathed her even more.
The two chatted for a while longer before falling asleep.
In the middle of the night, Ling Ruoke suddenly woke up from her dream, drenched in a cold sweat. She felt as if a pair of terrifying eyes were staring at her in the darkness, making her extremely uneasy while she slept.
She gazed at the swaying shadows of the trees outside the window, her breathing becoming heavy. Beside her, Pei-shi was fast asleep. Thinking she was overthinking things, she lay back down, but couldn't fall asleep again. She didn't drift off until dawn. This time, like Tan Pei-shi, she was woken up by Tan's mother.
"What are you doing? Didn't you sleep well? You have such big dark circles under your eyes! Are you reluctant to leave your son, or the captain?" Tan Peishi said with a mischievous smile. She loved teasing Ruoke the most.
Ling Ruoke raised her hand and smacked her, stopping her from going crazy. "Hurry up and wash your face and eat breakfast, or Aunt Tan will start nagging you again."
"Let her nag, that's my mom's source of joy. She has two sources of joy: being happy and nagging me." As she spoke, she stretched and yawned, covering her mouth.
Ling Ruoke pinched her. "You don't know how lucky you are!"
"I'm just saying I'm happy. Sometimes, happiness requires a little complaining, hehe."
Ling Ruoke shook her head helplessly. "Anyway, Tan Peishi, aside from other skills, you're quite good at making up bizarre and twisted logic. I've already witnessed it." Back in college, Peishi was particularly good at twisting things; she was famous in her dorm. Occasionally, some girls who didn't know their place would offend her, and she could make them cry with her words.
The two of them bickering adds a bit of fun to the mornings, which is quite nice.
After breakfast, Ling Ruoke went straight to the airport. She was driven there by Huo Qingfeng's bodyguard. The colonel was worried about her and naturally wouldn't let her go out alone. She knew that besides this bodyguard, there were countless other people secretly working for her. Remembering her worries from last night, she realized she had overthought things. Her colonel was reliable and wouldn't allow anyone to take advantage of her.
A sense of unease lingered in her heart, so halfway through the journey, Ling Ruoke had her guard turn the car around and return to the city. In this dangerous and lurking period, staying in Z City was safer. She wasn't afraid of being captured and tortured by Gu Tianze; she worried that if she fell into his hands, her colonel would risk his life to save her. And she didn't want him to be in the slightest danger!
Tan Peishi was quite surprised to see her return, but it was alright. She knew Ruoke was always reliable, though perhaps a little too kind—this was both her strength and her weakness.
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