Top Soldier Pursued by a Beauty

Xiaoya still puffed out her cheeks. "Hmph! You're lying! Why would you need to sleep with Mommy to treat my illness?"

"You're a bad man! A bad man!"

"Xiaoya, Uncle really isn't a bad man. I..." Zhao Dong was so embarrassed he wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

But Xiaoya refused to forgive him.

Seeing this, Wang Jing hurriedly picked Xiaoya up and said with difficulty, "Xiaoya, this is the Uncle Zhao Dong that Mommy told you about..."

"Uncle Zhao Dong?"

Xiaoya's large eyes widened as she looked at Zhao Dong in confusion. "You're Uncle Zhao Dong, Mommy's high school classmate?"

"Your mom mentioned me to you?" This time it was Zhao Dong's turn to be stunned.

Xiaoya's big eyes suddenly reddened.

"When Mommy was sleeping, she would often cry and call out your name, Uncle.

"I had to ask her many times before she finally told me about you two."

"Waaaah... Daddy is a bad man! If Mommy had married Uncle Zhao Dong, she definitely wouldn't have had such a hard life..."

The atmosphere became difficult to describe.

Zhao Dong looked at Wang Jing, his heart aching for her all over again. He walked slowly over to stand before her. The two gazed deeply into each other's eyes, neither of them speaking.

In that moment, silence spoke louder than words. Everything was understood without being said.

"Uncle, can you give me a hug?"

After learning Zhao Dong's identity, Xiaoya had warmed up to him and took the initiative to ask for a hug.

Zhao Dong naturally wouldn't refuse such a request.

He took Xiaoya from Wang Jing, and the little girl immediately buried her head in his chest.

A moment later, Xiaoya began to sob.

"Uncle Zhao Dong, your chest is so strong... Daddy never held me... Thank you, Uncle Zhao Dong... for letting me feel what it's like to have a father..."

"Don't cry, Xiaoya. If you miss me, I'll come to see you anytime, okay?" Zhao Dong comforted her softly.

Xiaoya immediately brightened up, holding out her little hand. "Okay! Then let's pinky promise!"

"Mm-hmm. Pinky promise, for a hundred years, no take-backs."

The little girl's thoughts were so pure. All she wanted was for her mother to be happy and to have the fatherly love she was missing...

After playing with Xiaoya for a while, Wang Jing walked Zhao Dong downstairs.

Downstairs, Zhao Dong held Wang Jing's hand and said earnestly, "Don't work at that kind of place anymore. If you're having trouble, just tell me, okay?"

PFFT.

Wang Jing suddenly laughed.

"Are you jealous?"

Zhao Dong shrugged. "It has nothing to do with jealousy. That place just really isn't good."

Hearing this, Wang Jing's expression fell. A moment later, however, she said softly, "Zhao Dong, I'll quit today."

Zhao Dong nodded. "Good. I'll find you two a new place to live. The environment here is terrible."

"You don't have to." Wang Jing took Zhao Dong's hand, placed it over her heart, and whispered, "Zhao Dong, even though you don't look down on me, I know I'm not good enough for you anymore.

"I don't expect you to stay and take care of my daughter and me, but whenever you miss me, you can come and find me anytime.

"Whatever you want to do... I... I won't refuse..."

The smile on her lips was bitter, but her adoring eyes gazed at him with tender sincerity.

A sharp pain pierced Zhao Dong's heart. Wang Jing was so sensible it was heartbreaking!

Zhao Dong wanted to promise her something, but the thought of Lin Qingyun and the others made him hold his tongue.

"I'll be back," Zhao Dong said, before reluctantly turning to leave.

Long after Zhao Dong's figure had disappeared from view, Wang Jing finally turned back, looking distraught.

Behind her, Xiaoya blinked her big eyes at her.

"Mommy, Uncle Zhao Dong will come back, right?"

"Yes. Mommy knows Uncle Zhao Dong. He'll definitely come back to see us," Wang Jing said with a smile, picking Xiaoya up.

A child's mind is so simple. Hearing that Zhao Dong would return, she began to dance with excitement.

"Mommy, Uncle Zhao Dong is so gentle. I want him to be my daddy, is that okay?"

"This..."

Wang Jing froze on the spot.

Her daddy? But if that really happened... how terribly unfair would that be to Zhao Dong?

Wang Jing took a deep breath and carried Xiaoya back into the dilapidated tenement building.

...

「Elsewhere.」

Zhao Dong had just left the slum with a heavy heart when an urgent call came from Ling Feng.

"Zhao Dong, something's happened!"

Ling Feng's brief words made Zhao Dong's already heavy heart sink.

He quickly asked, "Is it Qingyun?"

"Yes..." Ling Feng said with difficulty. "It's too complicated to explain in a few words. Are you free now? Let's meet and talk."

"Okay! Send me the address. I'm on my way!"

「Ten minutes later.」

「In a café.」

"What happened?" Zhao Dong asked Ling Feng hurriedly as he pushed through the door, not even taking the time to sit down.

"Sit down first," Ling Feng said, gesturing for Zhao Dong to take a seat.

He then continued with a troubled expression, "Zhao Dong, I'm really sorry... I already put in a lot of good words for you, but... the Lin Family still looks down on you. They think you're just some nobody who isn't worthy of Qingyun."

Zhao Dong's brow furrowed. He let out a cold sneer, his eyes glinting. "That's the Lin Family for you. Well done. What did Qingyun say?"

Ling Feng replied helplessly, "Qingyun, of course, refused to accept her family's arrangement, so she had a huge fight with them. They've put her under house arrest now."

Zhao Dong's expression grew darker.

"Even if they put her under house arrest, do they really think they can break us up?"

Hearing this, Ling Feng gave a wry smile. "They can. And they can present you with a fait accompli!"

"What do you mean?" An ominous feeling suddenly welled up in Zhao Dong's heart.

Ling Feng sighed. "It's Xiao Hongtian. He's returning to the Provincial City in a few days."