Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 339 - 343: Going Home

Chapter 339: Chapter 343: Going Home

Li Yifei was standing at the base of his apartment building, having smoked several cigarettes by now. He had been standing there for quite a while, not wanting to go upstairs.

For one, he wanted to think about what had happened today, who might be coming after him; secondly, he didn’t know how he would face Xu Yingying once he went up.

Just then, Li Yifei’s phone rang, surprisingly from Chu Xiaoyao. He casually answered and immediately heard Chu Xiaoyao’s crying voice. The girl sobbed while saying, "Uncle, come and get me. I want to stay at your place."

"What happened?" Li Yifei frowned.

With a voice strained by shouting, Chu Xiaoyao yelled, "They’re fighting again, non-stop. I’m going crazy."

Li Yifei could still hear Chu Xiaoyao’s parents arguing in the background over the phone, but his initial instinct was to refuse. However, as he was about to speak, he changed his mind, "Would your parents agree to it?"

"I don’t care whether they agree or not. If they don’t, I’d rather be kidnapped again," she replied.

"Alright, I’m coming to get you now," Li Yifei said.

Li Yifei hung up, tossed away the cigarette butt, and went to get his car. It wasn’t long before he arrived downstairs at Chu Xiaoyao’s place, where her parents and Xiaoyao herself were already standing. To his surprise, Xiaoyao had a small suitcase at her feet.

"Mr. Li... I’m really sorry to have to trouble you with Xiaoyao again," said Chu Xiaoyao’s father, his face full of embarrassment, and with scratch marks visible, clearly inflicted by Chu Xiaoyao’s mother.

Li Yifei sighed, "You should talk things over properly."

Chu Xiaoyao’s father was even more embarrassed, while her mother took a deep look at her daughter, then gave Li Yifei a forced smile and said, "From now on, we’ll leave Xiaoyao in Mr. Li’s care."

Li Yifei was speechless. They had just brought their daughter back from a kidnapping, and now they were back to non-stop arguing, seemingly without considering their daughter’s feelings. Yet, he felt he had no right to lecture them. He nodded, picked up Xiaoyao’s suitcase, and placed it in the trunk of his car.

Chu Xiaoyao snorted and, without even glancing at her parents, opened the car door and sat inside.

At that moment, Xiaoyao’s mother leaned against the car window on Xiaoyao’s side, her eyes red as she said, "Xiaoyao, you must listen to Uncle Li."

"Yeah, yeah," Xiaoyao said impatiently, waving her hand dismissively. Then to Li Yifei, she added, "Uncle, let’s go."

Li Yifei greeted both parents and then drove off with Xiaoyao.

All the way home, Xiaoyao was still fuming, venting to Li Yifei about her parents’ incessant arguing. Li Yifei casually responded while he felt a sense of relief. Now that Xiaoyao was at his house, Xu Yingying wouldn’t be able to bring up anything about wanting a child.

Back at home, as soon as Li Yifei had unlocked the door, Xu Yingying rushed to the entrance. Relieved to see Li Yifei unharmed, her expression immediately turned to confusion upon spotting Chu Xiaoyao following him.

Xiaoyao was also surprised to see Xu Yingying and her expression quickly turned angry. Clutching Li Yifei’s arm, she demanded, "Uncle, what’s the meaning of this? Why is there a woman in the house?"

Xiaoyao had seen Xu Shanshan before, but she couldn’t tell the difference between her and Xu Yingying. She remembered Xu Shanshan and knew she had a close relationship with Li Yifei. Seeing her at his home, Xiaoyao’s jealousy surged.

Xu Yingying would normally not take offense at a child’s words, but Xiaoyao’s tone was clearly accusatory. Feeling somewhat unhappy, she replied coolly, "I am Li Yifei’s wife. Shouldn’t I be living here?"

"You’re Li Yifei’s wife? Are you kidding me?" Xiaoyao’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Xu Yingying shrugged and said, "If you don’t believe me, ask him."

Eagerly, Xiaoyao grabbed Li Yifei’s arm, insisting, "Uncle, tell me quickly, she’s lying to me."

"Heh, she’s lying, just joking with you. You had such a scare today; go wash up, and then get some rest early." Then, he gave Xu Yingying a meaningful look.

By then, Xu Yingying remembered the girl had been kidnapped that day and didn’t understand why Li Yifei would bring her to his place instead of her parents’. But she realized she probably shouldn’t argue with a little girl under the circumstances and thus said with a laugh, "I was just teasing you. Yifei and I are good friends, and I’m just staying here for a few days."

Xiaoyao then lifted her head proudly, strutted into the living room, and asked, "Then do you know what I mean to the uncle?"

"What do you mean?" Xu Yingying looked at Xiaoyao, puzzled.

"I am Uncle’s mistress," Xiaoyao declared with pride, clearly very proud of herself.

Xu Yingying shot a glance at Li Yifei and then said to Xiaoyao with a smile, "Is that so? Well, you must be quite something."

Chu Xiaoyao became even more smug and said, "That’s right, let me tell you, if you want to be Uncle Li’s woman, you’d have to wait in line as the fourth or fifth one."

Xu Yingying couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Li Yifei and said, "I had no idea, Yifei, it’s really not easy to be your woman, the line is that long."

Li Yifei coughed dryly and said, "Alright, Xiaoyao, go tidy up a bit and get ready for bed."

It was then that Chu Xiaoyao strode confidently into the bathroom.

"Oh? What about the mistress?" Xu Yingying asked with her arms crossed and a displeased tone as she looked at Li Yifei.

Li Yifei chuckled and said, "She just likes to make a fuss. After I rescued her, I told her to go home, but it turned out that her parents were still fighting. The girl insisted on not staying at home and called me to pick her up. Considering she was emotionally unstable at the moment, I didn’t dare refuse her and brought her back."

"I’m not asking about that; what does this ’mistress’ thing mean?" Xu Yingying pressed, staring at Li Yifei.

"Haven’t I said? She likes to stir up trouble. Knowing that I have a girlfriend, she claimed she wanted to be my mistress. I didn’t agree, though. I may not be much, but I wouldn’t lay a hand on a child like that."

One questioned, the other explained, but suddenly both grew quiet. It was a strange feeling neither could put into words—it almost felt like the dynamics of a married couple.

"Uncle, I’m done washing up," Chu Xiaoyao announced as she came out of the bathroom, breaking the awkward silence.

Li Yifei quickly said, "Just go to sleep then."

Chu Xiaoyao shook her head and said, "Wait until I’ve put away my things." She then entered the bedroom dragging her little suitcase.

Xu Yingying frowned and asked, "Does she intend to stay here permanently?"

Li Yifei shrugged and replied, "Looks like she doesn’t want to go home for now." But inwardly, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. The longer Chu Xiaoyao stayed, the less he’d have to confront that troublesome issue.

"Uncle, there’s no more room in the closet," Chu Xiaoyao called out from the bedroom.

Xu Yingying and Li Yifei immediately went into the bedroom, where they saw the wardrobe doors flung open but already filled to capacity.

When Li Yifei had been living alone, most of the closet had been empty. However, when Su Yiyi occasionally stayed over, he had bought her some clothes, which she hadn’t taken to school and instead hung in the closet.

Then, today, Xu Yingying moved in. She hadn’t brought much, but after buying some underwear and the like from the supermarket, the closet was nearly full. With the addition of Chu Xiaoyao’s clothes, the small wardrobe was clearly overstuffed.

Looking at the array of women’s clothing, Li Yifei felt a headache coming on. It seemed his home was too small, but now that he had Xu Yingying, his legally wedded wife, it seemed inappropriate for others’ clothes to hang there. But Su Yiyi’s clothes were a different matter; he couldn’t possibly have her take them away. In his heart, Su Yiyi’s place was even more significant than that of Xu Yingying, his wife in name.

"These clothes belong to Sister Yiyi, right?" Chu Xiaoyao asked Li Yifei, tilting her head.

Li Yifei nodded and said, "Yes, they are."

Xu Yingying had already noticed the clothes and knew they belonged to Su Yiyi, which made her feel uncomfortable, but she didn’t touch them. She was well aware of her current relationship with Li Yifei—it was just a certificate. And that certificate was for her mother’s sake. When it came to the nature of their relationship, it was nowhere close to Su Yiyi’s.

She knew Li Yifei was just trying to help her, so she should be grateful and not interfere with his love life, but having that certificate and sensing Li Yifei’s relationships with other women always made Xu Yingying uncomfortable.

Li Yifei then squeezed some space in the closet and managed to hang a few of Chu Xiaoyao’s clothes inside, folding the rest and placing them at the bottom. "There, now you can go sleep," he said.

"Uncle, I want you to sleep with me," Chu Xiaoyao pouted, biting her lip with a pitiful look.

Li Yifei hurriedly said, "That won’t do; you sleep with your Sister Yingying."

"No, I will definitely be scared, and... I’m afraid of beautiful women," Chu Xiaoyao said, glancing at Xu Yingying and even showing a hint of fear on her face. It wasn’t an act; the woman who had kidnapped her had left a deep impression and caused her psychological trauma. Seeing a beautiful woman like Xu Yingying triggered an instinctual fear in her.

Li Yifei smiled and said, "Our home is only so big; there’s only one bed. I can’t possibly let her sleep on the sofa. Don’t be scared, I’ll sleep on the sofa outside."

"Then... then let’s all sleep together," Chu Xiaoyao suggested.

This proposal shocked Li Yifei and Xu Yingying, leaving them completely flabbergasted.