Due to a fever, Ye Ling’s voice was hoarse, and her words softly pierced into Ye He Ping’s heart, making him feel a pang of sadness.
Ye Ling tugged at the corner of her mouth, "Dad, I used to hate you so much. I thought you were too selfish, only caring about Mom and Ye Qian, never looking at Grandma and me. Grandma passed away because of matters related to Ye Qian. Back then, I thought why did you come back? If I didn’t have parents, it would have been better. Maybe grandma wouldn’t have left me so early."
She paused, choking up, "After arriving in the compound, I felt even more out of place. In the eyes of Mom and Dad, Ye Qian was always the best, and I felt your tolerance towards me was because of Grandma’s passing. I would’ve rather you treated me as you did before than use Grandma’s death to gain these. I always felt you should live with guilt for a lifetime."
"But Dad, suddenly I thought of Grandma. No matter what Dad did wrong, Grandma would never really blame you because you are her son. Now that Grandma is gone, she would definitely want you to be happy from the other side, not burdened with guilt forever. I love Grandma, so I don’t want her to be unhappy even after leaving. So Dad, for Grandma’s sake, you have to be happy too." Ye Ling didn’t know what came over her; thinking of the moment she woke up and saw her father, she didn’t want to hate him anymore.
What was the father’s fault? He could favor any of his children, but he fulfilled his responsibilities as a parent towards Ye Ling. Living life again burdened with hate would never bring happiness.
"Silly child." Ye He Ping suppressed the tears in his eyes, "Your grandma passed away, and I will never forget how she left. I was too blind to see clearly, causing your grandma to depart with regret, a mistake that I should bear to atone for my entire life. Before, I only focused on the army and left everything at home to your mother, so I didn’t pay attention and caused a rift between us. No matter what you think, I will never blame you."
"I’m actually glad. If it weren’t for you, I might have lived in this folly forever, only realizing I was unfilial upon old age, never having the chance to atone; that would be the greatest regret." At this moment, Ye He Ping shed his aura of decisiveness and became merely a loving father, "Now, I have no other wishes but for you to do well in school, get into a good university. Once your sister’s health recovers, even when going below to see your grandma, I won’t feel ashamed."
Ye Ling didn’t pursue the matter any further, considering it merely a casual remark from her father, and remembered the events of the day, "Dad, about Minister Shen, I’m sorry. I was too headstrong."
Ye He Ping’s smile faded, and he nodded, "This certainly had a bad impact; we understand what you kids were thinking, but this is a lifelong matter, and you can’t joke about it. Fortunately, this Nurse Liu wasn’t interested in Shen Bin, or you would have made a grave mistake."
Ye Ling didn’t expect her father to know about it all, indicating how big a deal it must have been, "Dad, I’ll remember."
"As long as you’ve remembered. This noodle is still warm, eat a few bites. There are a few hours until daybreak; I’ll have the cafeteria cook another portion for you then." Ye He Ping handed over the meal box beside him.
Ye Ling shook her head, "Dad, I’m not hungry. There are a few hours until daylight. You should get some sleep. My fever has gone down, leave me some medicine. If the fever returns, I’ll take the medicine myself and wait for you to come back in the morning."
Suddenly catching a cold and fever, Ye Ling didn’t expect it, and she wasn’t hungry at all.
Ye He Ping considered it, "Alright, I’ll turn off the light. You get some more sleep, and I’ll come back when it’s light."
Once her father turned off the light and left, Ye Ling yawned. Though she had slept earlier, being sick made her fall into a deep sleep again unknowingly. The next day, when the bugle sounded, she merely turned over and continued sleeping without being disturbed.
When Ye Ling genuinely woke up, it was already broad daylight, around nine o’clock. The company usually takes a break around this time, allowing her to see soldiers walking in small groups from the window. Ye Ling sat up, still wearing yesterday’s clothes, which she hadn’t changed out of. Feeling hungry, she noticed a meal box on the table, which she opened to find white porridge and a peeled boiled egg. She grabbed the spoon beside it and started eating several big mouthfuls of porridge, followed by the egg, finally feeling alive before slowly continuing.
At the time, rice was scarce, mainly coming from the south with few places growing it in the north, making it expensive. The aroma of rice porridge was appealing; in her previous life before dying, she rarely ate well. In her new life during such hard times, it was rare to enjoy such delicious rice porridge.
With food in her stomach, Ye Ling felt truly better and had just closed the meal box to wash it when someone pushed the door open, revealing none other than Zhao Guodong and two others.
Ye Ling kept a bland expression, "What are you here for?"
Zhao Guodong walked in with a smile, but Ye Ling’s words made his face stiffen, stopping him in his tracks without moving forward.
Wang Ping, being timid, also halted, while Zhang Linong sat directly on the bed, merely observing Ye Ling.
"You had a fever yesterday and it wouldn’t have been good to stay there overnight. We just completed our training, and Uncle Ye said your illness is better, so we came to see you." After Zhao Guodong finished speaking and Ye Ling ignored him, he quickly found something else to say, happily laughing, "That Nurse Liu left, and she really didn’t fancy Shen Bin. Ye Ling, you’re amazing. Earlier, when I saw Shen Bin coming over, I thought we’d be exposed, but it worked out. Let’s see if he dares to mess with us in the future."
Though he got scolded by his father yesterday, Zhao Guodong couldn’t help feeling happy. The weight added by Shen Bin in this morning’s training didn’t even tire him.
Zhao Guodong was speaking joyfully with accompanying gestures, entirely unaware of Ye Ling’s cold gaze. It was Wang Ping beside him who knowingly moved a step to the side. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)