Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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While waiting for Jiang Mochen to come home, Yan Qingchi steamed rice and stir-fried a few dishes. Jiang Mochen, on the other hand, picked up Qi Qi from school. Qi Qi was very happy to see him and hugged him, snuggling in his arms and telling him about his recent school life, including how his drawing won first place in his class a couple of days ago.
As he spoke, Qi Qi opened hus schoolbag, took out his drawing, and handed it to Jiang Mochen. It was a drawing of puppies playing with each other in the sunlight. Although the drawing was still quite immature, but it was full of childlike innocence and fun. Looking at the drawing, Jiang Mochen felt that, in terms of drawing alone, Qi Qi, although not their biological child, unexpectedly resembled Yan Qingchi. He thought that this might be what they called fate.
“Qi Qi is so great,” he praised, adding, “Just like your dad.”
Qi Qi smiled, his eyes crinkling, and asked softly, “Can I have a puppy?”
“Qi Qi wants a dog?”
Qi Qi nodded. “Puppies are so cute, can I have one?”
Jiang Mochen thought for a moment. “You can, but not right now.”
Qi Qi blinked, looking at him with some confusion.
Jiang Mochen explained, “Yan Yan is still young and needs family care, so if we had a dog, we might not be able to take care of it properly. Also, we live upstairs right now, and the space isn’t very big. A small dog would be fine, but if you prefer a big dog, it wouldn’t be very convenient. Can we get a dog after we move?”
Qi Qi nodded. “Sure.” He simply wanted a dog; whether it was now or later wasn’t that important to Qi Qi.
Jiang Mochen patted his head. “Qi Qi, you can see which kind of dog you like first, and then Dad will take you to pick one out.”
“Okay.”
When Jiang Mochen and Qi Qi returned, Yan Qingchi had just finished cooking the last dish.
Qi Qi ran over to him excitedly and said, “Dad, I won first place in our class’s drawing competition!”
“Really?” Yan Qingchi said in surprise, “Qi Qi is so amazing! Dad will celebrate with you tomorrow.”
“How will we celebrate?” Qi Qi asked him.
“How do you want to celebrate?”
Qi Qi thought for a moment and said honestly, “I want to go out and play. Let’s go to the amusement park.”
“Okay.” Yan Qingchi patted his hair. “What did you draw? Let Dad see.”
Qi Qi found his drawing, handed it to Yan Qingchi, and whispered to him, “I just talked to my father, and he said that I can have a dog in the future.”
Yan Qingchi looked at his drawing, which depicted puppies playing together. He nodded. “Okay, you can pick out a puppy you like later.”
“I like a white one, a small one. I want to name it Snowball.”
“You’ve even thought of a name.”
“I thought of it in the car.” Qi Qi said happily.
Jiang Mochen saw the two of them talking about getting a dog, went upstairs to change into some home clothes, and then went to see Yan Yan. Yan Yan was playing with Aunt Zhang. Although Aunt Zhang didn’t know that Yan Yan was Jiang Mochen and Yan Qingchi’s biological child, she had taken care of Jiang Mochen as he grew up and later took care of Qi Qi, so she had a lot of affection for the Jiang family’s children.
Seeing Jiang Mochen enter, she smiled and said, “Young Master is back.”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all.” She looked at Jiang Mochen, “In the blink of an eye, Young Master has already settled down and has children. Time flies.”
Jiang Mochen also felt that time had indeed passed too quickly. In the blink of an eye, he already had two children.
He picked Yan Yan up from the bed. Yan Yan obediently let him hold him, looking at him with his eyes open. Jiang Mochen held him and rocked him up and down, and he happily danced around.
Aunt Zhang watched and smiled, “This child is livelier and more active than Qi Qi. Their personalities complement each other, so they are suitable to be brothers.”
Jiang Mochen thought about his own childhood and realized that he wasn’t as lively. He felt that Yan Yan might be more like Yan Qingchi, which made him a little happier. He had always felt it was unfair that he couldn’t give Yan Yan the surname of Yan Qingchi. Now, seeing that Yan Yan was more like Yan Qingchi than himself, he felt a bit of comfort.
After dinner, Qi Qi went to play with Yan Yan as usual, while Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen read the script directed by Kang Sheng, “Waiting for Spring,” which Li Bozhong had sent them.
Unlike most military dramas Yan Qingchi had seen, the male lead of “Waiting for Spring,” Yan Ling, wasn’t the traditional, honest, hardworking character who rose from humble beginnings to become a legendary soldier. Instead, Yan Ling was more like a child prodigy.
Yan Ling’s father, Yan Jifeng, was injured during a special forces selection process and later retired from the military. Therefore, from a young age, Yan Jifeng hoped that Yan Ling would fulfil his dream of becoming an excellent special forces soldier. Yan Ling was handsome, aloof, somewhat arrogant, and also quite sharp-tongued. Under his father’s tutelage, he was very skilled in combat and knew from a young age that he would join the army. However, precisely because he grew up in this environment, he always felt confused and doubtful about whether he should really join the army.
Yan Ling, of course, followed his father’s wishes and joined the army. Being the most delicate-looking among the new recruits, he was immediately ridiculed by the troublemakers in his platoon. Accustomed to his aloofness, Yan Ling ignored them. Thinking he was easy to bully, they deliberately made him wash their clothes and socks in the dormitory, only to be immediately defeated by Yan Ling, who then dumped all the dirty clothes on his head.
Yan Ling became famous overnight, attracting the attention of the best recruits. Several people privately challenged him to a duel, only to be defeated after being provoked. Undoubtedly, he was the most outstanding recruit.
Amidst these successive victories, Yan Ling became increasingly confused about the meaning of his military service. It wasn’t until his platoon competed against the second platoon that Yan Ling met the first person in the army who would influence him— Ma Jun. Ma Jun came from a rural area, and joining the army was the best option for him besides going to university. Ma Jun’s academic performance wasn’t good, so he focused all his efforts on military service. He was earnest, hardworking, and diligent. Compared to Yan Ling, who was completely unsure whether joining the army was the right or wrong decision, his life goals were clear and definite.
They were opponents in their first friendly match. As the final performer, Ma Jun usually had a good personality, a somewhat goofy smile, but his attacks were ruthless. He certainly couldn’t beat Yan Ling, who had been strictly trained by his father since childhood, but he always tried to turn the tide at the last second. Yan Ling, encountering such an opponent for the first time, was somewhat moved.
After losing, Ma Jun would secretly seek out Yan Ling for sparring whenever he had time. Yan Ling initially ignored him, but later, finding him too honest, he would spar with him. Ma Jun asked him, “Why do you always look unhappy?”
Yan Ling asked him, “Do I look unhappy?”
Ma Jun said, “Well, you don’t seem really happy.”
Yan Ling thought to himself, there was nothing to be happy about.
They maintained their private contact, and Ma Jun lost to Yan Ling time and time again. However, in the second match against Class Two, Ma Jun unexpectedly defeated Yan Ling.
Yan Ling was surprised by his first defeat. When Ma Jun came to him privately again and they competed once more, he realized that Ma Jun’s progress far exceeded his expectations.
Yan Ling felt a sense of panic, a panic stemming from a loss of control and the impending fall from the peak. He carefully reviewed his past experience and realized that everyone else was progressing, while he remained stagnant. He had been at the top from the start, knowing he was the strongest among the recruits, so he had simply watched indifferently, never considering improvement.
Yan Ling felt his first sense of crisis with Ma Jun and finally began to take things seriously. He trained diligently and intensified his training, quickly widening the gap between himself and Ma Jun again. This was normal; Yan Ling knew it, after all, he had a natural talent for it.
Soon, the recruit tests were conducted, and classes were reassigned. Yan Ling and Ma Jun were placed in the same class. Ma Jun was sociable, good-natured, and of similar skill level to the others, so he quickly became friends with the others. Yan Ling was aloof and sharp-tongued; even when training alongside the others, his skills surpassed theirs. They jokingly called him a genius, finding it perfectly normal that he was superior.
Yan Ling quickly realized his difference in the class. If he won, it was expected; if he lost, it must be because he hadn’t performed well and would win next time. No one paid much attention to him, even though he had started trying to integrate with everyone.
The company was holding a competition, and each class needed to send three people. In their class, it was him, the class monitor, and Ma Jun. This competition was very important, and the three of them practiced every day. He watched the class monitor encourage and praise Ma Jun during daily training, happy for Ma Jun’s progress, and the sense of inferiority in his heart grew stronger.
He thus asked the squad leader, “Why do you never encourage me?”
The squad leader, somewhat bewildered, replied, “You’re already very good. You’re amazing even without my encouragement.”
Yan Ling asked him expressionlessly, “So, I should just be ignored?”
The squad leader hadn’t expected him to think that way and quickly explained that he and Ma Jun were different. Ma Jun was like a pump; you had to press down to get water out, while Yan Ling was like a well, already full. He knew Yan Ling wouldn’t have any problems, which was why he paid more attention to Ma Jun.
Yan Ling didn’t speak. The squad leader said he wouldn’t do that again and would pay attention to him, but Yan Ling said he didn’t need it.
He’d always been like this, saying one thing and meaning another, never admitting what he wanted. He still participated in the company competition and still won, but in the end, during the squad celebration, the squad leader was all over Ma Jun, laughing and talking with everyone. Yan Ling felt he didn’t belong here.
So Yan Ling wanted to leave. He had just won the company competition and gained the company commander’s attention; the company commander was reluctant to let him go. Yan Ling said there was no point in him staying here. The company commander then asked him, “Why did you join the army in the first place?”
Yan Ling then remembered his father’s lifelong dream and said, “I want to be a special forces soldier.”
The company commander said, “Then wait a moment, the special forces selection is coming up soon.”
Yan Ling stayed because of this reason and participated in the selection. He was successfully selected and began a new journey.
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