A Warm and Cute Strike (GL) - Chapter 12

Qin Xuening turned her wheelchair and retreated into a corner, alone. Aside from avoiding her loathsome future uncle-in-law, she simply disliked being in crowds; the feeling of being surrounded by strangers was incredibly unsettling.

She had long since grown accustomed to being alone; it made her feel safe.

This scene caught Ye Feifei’s eye from a distance, making her heart ache. It reminded her of Xiang Qingnuan—when her daughter was home alone, was she this lonely and isolated too?

As the memorial service began and the emcee took his position, Ye Feifei stood up and quietly slipped into the hallway. Ensuring no one was around, she pulled out her phone and dialed Zhu Lin.

“Hello, Zhu Lin? Is Nuannuan awake?”

“She is. She just finished breakfast. Do you want to speak with her, Sister Feifei? One moment.”

The sound of footsteps came through the phone, followed by Zhu Lin speaking to the child.

“Hello—Mommy!”

The girl’s sweet, soft voice traveled through the receiver into Feifei’s ear, coaxing a tender smile from her. She explained why she hadn’t come home and chatted for a bit before hanging up.

She stared at the blue sky outside. That sudden idea from earlier began to take root and sprout in her mind, rapidly growing into a towering tree.

Click—

A sound from behind snapped Feifei out of her thoughts. She turned to see a familiar figure standing at the end of the hallway. He was leaning against the windowsill with a cigarette in his mouth, flicking a lighter.

Sensing her gaze, he paused while lighting up and looked over. Upon seeing Ye Feifei, the man froze, a flash of panic and guilt crossing his eyes. He instinctively straightened up, hiding the lighter behind his back. Realizing he still had a cigarette in his mouth, he quickly took it out, dropped it, and crushed it with his leather shoe.

Watching his frantic movements, Ye Feifei couldn’t help but burst into a laugh, though her eyes flickered with affection.

The man gave her an innocent look and turned to leave. Seeing him walk away, Feifei quickly called out:

“Xiang Nan.”

Xiang Nan paused. He looked back and saw his wife walking briskly toward him, which left him somewhat surprised.

Ye Feifei had strictly forbidden any intimate or suggestive behavior between them outside the home. He understood her reasoning—even if he didn’t fully agree—and did his best to cooperate. This was likely why their relationship had gradually cooled; they had very little time together as it was, let alone time at home.

Looking at Feifei after several days apart, Xiang Nan felt a bit dejected. His wife disliked him smoking, and he usually abstained, but today was special.

His relationship with Qin Mo was complicated. Their families were old friends, so they had known each other since they were very young, but they had never gotten along. They fought constantly as children, but because Qin Mo was a musician, the adults always sided with him, which had frustrated Xiang Nan for years.

Despite their friction, Xiang Nan never imagined he would die so young. His mood was incredibly heavy; he had only wanted to sneak a smoke to ease his sorrow, but he had the rotten luck of being caught red-handed by his wife.

Is she going to interrogate me?

“I wasn’t smoking,” Xiang Nan defended himself earnestly. “It’s out. I didn’t take a single puff.”

“Who’s talking about that?” Feifei reached him and gave him a sideways glance after hearing his guilty defense.

That single look was so soul-stirring and full of charm that Xiang Nan’s heart skipped several beats—no matter how many years they were married, his wife’s every expression still moved him.

“Then what is it?” Xiang Nan looked around cautiously, afraid someone might stumble upon them.

“I just spoke with Qingnuan on the phone.”

Xiang Nan paused. The image of his daughter’s bright smile flashed in his mind, and his expression softened, though a hint of guilt followed.

“Mhm. Once things here are settled, I’ll find time to go back and see her.”

After the accident, he had canceled all social engagements and promotional work to stay here and help. Once the memorial ended and Su Yuyan and her daughter were settled, he would have fulfilled his duty and could step back.

Because Ye Feifei hadn’t mentioned it, Xiang Nan was still unaware that his daughter had been abused by the nanny.

“I have something to discuss with you. After… after the service is over, let’s leave together,” Feifei said, biting her lip.

“Are you sure?” Xiang Nan frowned. “If someone sees us…”

“Am I that shameful to be seen with?” Feifei glared at him.

She had felt for a long time that Xiang Nan was acting strange—avoiding her whenever they met, barely speaking two words. If it hadn’t been for his touching behavior after the accident, she would have suspected he was seeing someone else.

Xiang Nan felt quite innocent, but he understood one principle: never try to argue with Ye Feifei. Whatever the wife says is right—knowing that was enough.

“Alright, we’ll leave together later,” Xiang Nan nodded. Confirming she had nothing else to say, he prepared to return to the hall.

“Wait.” Feifei stopped him and reached out to straighten his tie. It had been a long time since she had done such a thing, especially in public.

But she didn’t want to hide their relationship anymore. The tragedy with the Qins had affected her deeply. Life was short; neglecting or hurting your family for the sake of a career was the height of stupidity.

Feifei’s unusual behavior allowed Xiang Nan to guess her thoughts. Though surprised, he was mostly delighted. The heavy gloom from his friend’s passing lightened slightly. He patted Feifei’s head, and the two shared a knowing smile.

Then, one after the other, they returned to the hall. This scene, however, was caught by several watchful eyes—including Chen Yang, who was sitting next to Qin Xinlan. His eyes flickered as he comforted his weeping girlfriend, his expression becoming thoughtful.

After the service, Ye Feifei and Xiang Nan returned to the hotel together.

“Xiang Nan, I want to take Xuening back with us.” The moment they entered the room, Feifei got straight to the point. She had been mulling this over all morning and the more she thought, the more feasible it seemed.

“Take her back? To where?” Xiang Nan loosened his tie and poured them two glasses of water.

“To our house!” Feifei said excitedly. “Our house is huge; having her there isn’t a problem. That way, we won’t have to worry about her being bullied, and Qingnuan will have a companion. Isn’t it killing two birds with one stone?”

Xiang Nan felt his wife was being a bit idealistic. He shook his head. “Aside from the fact that Xuening still has her aunt, if we take the child back, we become responsible for her care. If anything goes wrong, how would we handle it?”

“You… you just don’t want the responsibility!” Feifei had expected support, but his cold rationality felt heartless to her.

“Xuening’s father just passed away and her mother won’t be waking up anytime soon. Given her mental state, it’s better for her to be in a familiar environment with familiar people.”

“We are familiar people!”

“But how much time can you guarantee you’ll spend with her? Don’t forget, we couldn’t even take care of Qingnuan!”

Feifei’s face went pale. Xiang Nan, seeing this, realized his words were too harsh and took a deep breath to calm himself.

“Once I finish filming this drama, I’ll talk to Sister Hong and have her push back my work. I’ll go home to be with the kids,” Feifei said with red eyes, sitting on the sofa defiantly.

“Even if you convince Cheng Hong, the company won’t agree,” Xiang Nan shook his head again. “You just signed an A-level contract; the Huashi Group has poured so many resources into you. You can’t just quit because you want to.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Feifei started to cry, her emotions boiling over. “Do you know that our daughter was being abused by that black-hearted nanny at home? She only fed her after she finished her chores! Washing dishes, hanging laundry, mopping, weeding—she’s so small!

“When I went home the other day, I saw her hiding in her room, secretly eating a mantou she had stashed away because she was hungry! That bun was hard and sour, yet she ate it like it was a feast. At that moment, I felt like a knife was being driven into my chest!”

Feifei couldn’t stop sobbing. “What’s the point of making all this money? We didn’t even know our daughter was being bullied… sob…”

Xiang Nan’s face also went pale. As a director, he had a vivid imagination; with Feifei’s description, he couldn’t help but picture his daughter being mistreated, and his heart ached again and again.

He sat on the sofa and held his weeping wife tight. After a long silence, he spoke: “My new film is in post-production and the work is nearly done. It’s time for me to settle down for a bit.”

“You mean…” Feifei stopped crying and looked up at her husband.

“Once the remaining work is finished, I’ll go home to be with our daughter.”

Actually, after learning that his daughter had nearly drowned due to the nanny’s negligence, Xiang Nan had reflected deeply and planned for the future. But now it seemed he needed to move that schedule forward.

Feifei wiped her tears and smiled, then remembered something. “And what about Xuening?”

Xiang Nan had a bit of a headache. His own daughter was one thing, but taking in another child—one with autistic tendencies—felt like it might be too much.

“Why do you feel so strongly about this?” He tried to get to the root of the issue.

“Daughter told me her New Year’s wish was for a big brother,” Feifei said. “If not a brother, an older sister is fine, right? I really think Qingnuan needs a playmate.”

Knowing it was his daughter’s wish, Xiang Nan frowned. After much internal struggle, he finally compromised. He thought for a moment and said, “It’s no use if we’re the only ones excited about this. Let’s talk to Qin Xinlan first. She is the child’s guardian, after all.”

Feifei agreed that he was right, and the couple finally reached a consensus.

The next day, Feifei went back to filming. Xiang Nan, always a man of action, sought out Qin Xinlan to express his wish to take in Qin Xuening.

“Besides Xuening, we want to transfer her mother to a hospital in A-City as well. We’ll have specialists look after her; you won’t have to worry too much.”

Xiang Nan assumed Qin Xinlan wouldn’t refuse, but to his surprise, the woman frowned after hearing his proposal.