Siheyuan came through and sent Jia Zhang to prison

In fact, Yi Zhonghai was not in a hurry to choose a child. He just wanted to give his wife, Aunt Tan, a heads-up so that she could be prepared. He had a clear plan in mind: after a while, when everything was arranged, he could bring the child home. By then, it would be a done deal. Even if Aunt Tan had some doubts in her heart, she would not be too resistant for the sake of the child.

After figuring out this, Yi Zhonghai felt a lot more relieved. He poured himself another full glass of wine, picked it up and drank it in one gulp. The spicy wine slid down his throat, bringing a warm feeling. A relaxed smile appeared on his face that he hadn't seen for a long time.

Aunt Tan sat across from him, watching him drink one glass after another, feeling both surprised and delighted. She hadn't expected Yi Zhonghai to suddenly come to his senses and be willing to adopt a child. She'd tried her best to persuade him before, but he remained unmoved, and she'd almost given up on the idea. Now, hearing him say this, thinking about having a child around them, like their own, would be a wonderful thought for the old couple. Aunt Tan's eyes warmed up, and she quickly raised her hand to rub them.

Actually, Aunt Tan had a thought before: wasn't He Yuzhu's wife, Qin Jingru, already pregnant? Although Yi Zhonghai and He Yuzhu had always been at odds, she and He Yuzhu's mother had a very good relationship in the past, so if you were to be honest, they were somewhat related. She had originally wanted to wait for the child to be born and take care of it more, to fill the void of not having a younger generation around. But now that Yi Zhonghai had taken the initiative to propose adoption, her thoughts naturally faded - having a child of your own was always different.

She watched Yi Zhonghai drink sip after sip. Although she still didn't understand why he suddenly changed his ways, she knew it was a good thing after all, so she didn't ask any more questions. She just put another piece of stewed meat in his bowl and said softly, "Drink slowly, don't choke. Drinking too much on an empty stomach will hurt your stomach. Eat more meat to fill it up."

Yi Zhonghai was already happy, and after hearing this, he felt even more relieved, nodding his head repeatedly. He thought happily: When I have my own children, my life will be even better! By then, I can completely cut off all ties with the Jia family's troubles, and no one will want to drag me down again. In this life, he actually just wants to live a peaceful and stable life. If he hadn't had no children and was afraid that no one would take care of him when he was old, why would he have been so foolish to jump in and help the Jia family and He Yuzhu, and end up with all this trouble?

Just then, Zheng Qiang, from another household outside the courtyard, dragged himself home exhausted. He plopped down on the sofa, his brow furrowed, a rage welling up in his stomach. He'd hidden so well, yet how had they still spotted him? His plans had been completely disrupted, and the thought of it filled him with rage.

Zheng Qiang was sulking at the air when the bedroom door creaked open. Yaya came out, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Her little voice was hazy with sleep, "Dad, why are you unhappy? Is there something wrong?"

No matter how angry Zheng Qiang was, his anger instantly vanished when he saw his daughter's innocent face. He quickly forced a smile and beckoned Yaya over: "Daddy's not mad, I just came home late and was afraid to disturb your sleep. Did Daddy make too much noise and wake you up?"

Yaya shook her head and pulled out a piece of candy wrapped in candy paper from her pocket. She stood on tiptoe and put it into Zheng Qiang's hand, saying seriously, "Dad, I don't know why you're unhappy, but Mom said that if you feel sad, just eat a piece of candy. It's sweet and you won't feel so sad anymore."

Zheng Qiang pinched the small piece of candy. The edge of the candy wrapper was a little wrinkled, but it still carried the warmth of his daughter's palm. He looked down at Yaya's clear eyes, and his heart warmed. The depression he had just felt seemed to be diluted by the sweetness of the candy.

Zheng Qiang took the candy from Yaya, peeled off the wrapper and put it in his mouth. The sweetness spread, but his heart still felt heavy. He looked at his daughter's upturned face and said softly, "Yaya, Daddy is fine now. He's not feeling bad anymore. It's getting late. You should go to bed."

Yaya blinked her sleepy eyes, her little hands still clutching the corner of her clothes, and whispered, "Dad, I can't sleep. Can you tell me a story? Just one. I'll fall asleep after listening to it."

Zheng Qiang had never told a story to a child before, and he was a little embarrassed for a moment, but he still responded with a stiff upper lip: "Okay, but don't think Daddy's story is unpleasant."

Yaya smiled, revealing two small fangs, shook her head without saying anything, climbed onto the bed obediently, covered her chest with the quilt, and only looked at him with a pair of bright eyes.

Zheng Qiang sat down beside the bed, thought for a moment, and then said softly, "Then I'll tell you a soldier's story."

He began to tell the story slowly. The protagonist in the story was called "Dark Soul"—it was actually his own experience, just a different name. He described how Dark Soul lurked in the dead of night, how he braved the hail of bullets, how he saved his companions in the face of danger, and how he endured the pain to complete the mission. The thrills hidden in his heart now transformed into gentle tones, flowing into the quiet night.

Yaya listened attentively, her brows furrowing as the story unfolded, and she clenched her fists when she heard the thrilling parts. When Zheng Qiang talked about how the Dark Soul led the enemy away alone, she couldn't help but whisper, "Dad, why did he do that? Isn't he afraid?"

Zheng Qiang paused, looked into his daughter's clear eyes, and said softly, "Because he wants to protect the people behind him. Some things have to be done by someone. He's not a hero, he's just doing what he has to do."

Yaya nodded, not quite understanding, muttering, "But he is a hero..."

Zheng Qiang wanted to say something more, but when he looked down, he saw Yaya's eyelids drooping, her mouth slightly open, her breathing becoming more even—she had fallen asleep. The light fell on her peaceful face, her long eyelashes like two small fans. Zheng Qiang raised his hand to wipe the moisture from the corners of his eyes and gently tucked the corner of the quilt around her, afraid to disturb her dream.

He stood by the bed and looked at her for a long time, then whispered, "Yaya, don't worry, Dad will be fine."

His plan was becoming clear: Next, he would use those thugs to eliminate the people secretly investigating—only in this way could he gain Luo Hao's trust and get closer to the truth. He planned to go to Director He Feng tomorrow and tell him that he was going to eliminate these thugs, but he deliberately suggested not using his own people, but only borrowing personnel from the investigation team.

After making up his mind, Zheng Qiang gently closed the door and returned to his room to rest.

The next morning, He Feng was getting ready for work as usual. As he walked out of the family compound, he caught a glimpse of two people standing under a locust tree not far away. Yi Zhonghai was talking to a strange woman, and they seemed quite familiar with each other. The woman raised her hand to smooth her hair from time to time, a smile on her face.