Take a little hand, win at life

For a moment, Ye Ruan felt as though a flock of little sparrows had surrounded him.

"Shh."

Ye Ruan crouched down and spread his arms, gathering the children into a hug.

It was a bit of a squeeze, but the children were easily satisfied and burst into giggles.

Perhaps because he looked so harmless, Ye Ruan was especially well liked.

Especially by children. Li Tuantuan always kissed Ye Ruan on the cheek right in front of Gu Cheng, or rubbed her own chubby cheek against his.

Before he and Ye Ruan got together, Gu Cheng could only glare helplessly.

Now that his status had changed, Gu Cheng strode over and picked Ye Ruan up from behind, supporting his bottom with one hand.

He snatched up his wife and took off.

The children erupted into an uproar, bouncing along behind Gu Cheng to snatch Ye Ruan back.

Gu Cheng was just as childish. He slung the little bunny straight over his shoulder. "No! Your big brother Ye Ruan is mine. No kissing him!"

There weren't many people around, but Ye Ruan was still embarrassed and struggled in flustered indignation.

Gu Cheng gave him a quick smack, keeping it out of the children's sight.

"Bunny, you need to keep a reasonable distance from other men."

A mist rose in Ye Ruan's eyes as he whispered, "They're just children."

"They're not that little. When I was Li Tuantuan's age, I could already go on missions."

Gu Cheng lowered him, parted his legs, and had him wrap them around his waist.

"If they kiss you, then tonight, when we get back, I'll..."

He whispered the last few words against Ye Ruan's ear.

Ye Ruan's breathing quickened considerably. He bit his lip and nodded in agreement. "Okay. I won't let them kiss me."

"Good bunny." Satisfied, Gu Cheng finally set him down.

Once Gu Cheng had walked away, Ye Ruan went to take Li Tuantuan's and Ren Fei'er's little hands, his face still red.

Li Tuantuan poked Ye Ruan's cheek. "Your face is so red, big brother. Did Captain Gu bully you?"

Ye Ruan tugged at his white hair in a fluster. "N-no. He was just joking with me."

Ren Fei'er gave an ambiguous "Oh," drawing it out in a thoroughly mischievous way.

Ye Ruan brushed a finger down Ren Fei'er's nose. "Shh, you little rascal."

Ren Fei'er laughed and threw herself against Ye Ruan, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He played with the children for a while.

Li Tuantuan clung to Ye Ruan, a little ball of chub hanging from his leg, refusing to let go no matter what he said.

Ye Ruan was patient with her, so he simply sat down on the grass and chatted with her for a while.

"The day before I came to City H, General Nan took me to find my aunt."

"General Nan..."

At the sound of that name, complicated emotions flickered through Ye Ruan's eyes.

"Why did he take you?"

Li Tuantuan had a candy in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out. "Mm... I don't know. The general bought me a burger and fries, and I got to look for my aunt."

Ye Ruan asked thoughtfully, "What about your dad?"

Li Tuantuan scratched her cheek. "Dad doesn't seem to be in a very good mood. I haven't seen him in a year."

"He knew I was coming to City H this time, but he didn't come to see me off."

"Don't be sad. He might just be too busy." Ye Ruan rubbed the little girl's head, then his fingers suddenly paused. He looked down and parted Li Tuantuan's hair.

There were two raised bumps, hard to the touch.

Without touching them, anyone looking would have assumed the child had bumped her head.

After a long while, Li Tuantuan asked, "Big brother, what are you looking at? What's wrong with the top of my head?"

"My head is really itchy. My body's been itchy lately, too."

Li Tuantuan rolled up her sleeve and scratched her arm.

Ye Ruan looked over with a complicated expression. Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and he grabbed the little girl's arm.

Li Tuantuan said, "Big brother?"

Ye Ruan covered Li Tuantuan's forearm with his palm.

The sight he'd just seen lingered in his mind.

On the little girl's chubby arm was a small patch of fleshy pink scales, like the softest scales on a fish's belly.

No wonder.

No wonder, on the day he'd become separated from the Third Team, Commander Li had been the first to tell him to assist the First Team when his superiors learned he'd encountered them.

And escort Li Tuantuan, Commander Li's "daughter," along the way.

He'd heard Gu Cheng mention that when they found Li Tuantuan, her aunt had already been infected.

"Big brother..."

Ye Ruan abruptly came back to his senses and smiled at Li Tuantuan.

"Sorry, I suddenly remembered something. You said you've been itchy-it might be an allergy. I have some medicine here. Just drink one vial."

Ye Ruan put his hand behind his back and took a vial of medicine out of his Storage Wristband. It bore only a cute little sprig of grass.

"Drink one vial, and you won't itch tomorrow." Ye Ruan pinched the little girl's cheek.

When Ye Ruan found Gu Cheng and the others, they were up on the truck securing steel pipes. A pile of waterproof canvas lay on the ground.

They probably intended to secure the canvas over the truck bed, enclosing it to keep out the wind and rain while leaving room for plenty of people.

"Need any help?" Ye Ruan asked, looking up.

"No, we're almost done. Stand here and wait for me a minute."

Gu Cheng wore a black tank top. The sun was strong today, and he'd worked up quite a sweat.

Of the group, only Fang Ci and Yu Jingjing hadn't climbed up.

In the few minutes since Ye Ruan arrived, quite a few young women nearby had already pretended to walk past three times.

Their gazes clung openly to the men.

Holding back a laugh, Yu Jingjing said theatrically, "Oh my, what fine physiques you handsome fellows have. Why don't you line up and do a lap later, give everyone a little eye candy?"

Even Fang Ci gave her a disdainful look. "Do you still remember Zhao Dachui?"

Seeing Yu Jingjing shut her mouth, Ye Ruan grew curious and asked:

"Fang Ci, who's Zhao Dachui?"

Fang Ci suppressed a laugh. "He's in charge of the cafeteria at headquarters. He's really burly, more than half again as broad as Captain Gu, and over two meters tall."

Zhao Dachui had once pursued Yu Jingjing ardently.

Ever since Zhao Dachui took over the cafeteria, every time Yu Jingjing went there for a meal, one trip around the counter left her tray piled into a little mountain.

More than half the limited portions of sweet-and-sour ribs went to Yu Jingjing.

Yu Jingjing was both delighted and troubled by this. She'd rather forgo the delicious meat and had made it clear to Zhao Dachui that there was no chance of anything between them.

"I'm a fucking cool chick. Someday, I'm going to find someone like Little Ye Ruan, the kind who stays red for ages after one kiss."

Yu Jingjing indulged in a blissful fantasy. "Take a little hand, win at life."

Ye Ruan took her words to heart and suddenly said, "Then Little Hamster seems like a good match for you. Her name is Tang Tang, Number 27."

Lu Jiayi looked thoughtful. "A cat and a hamster?"

Li Rang said, "Interesting."

The sun climbed toward its zenith. The group was roasting, and their stomachs were empty.

Gu Cheng waved a large hand. "Let's go. We'll carry on this afternoon."

"What's for lunch, Captain?" Yu Jingjing rubbed her stomach. "I'm starving..."

Gu Cheng washed his hands and went to take Ye Ruan's hand. "Baby, what do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."

Ye Ruan turned to look at Yu Jingjing, who immediately whispered, "Noodles..."

"I'd like noodles."

Naturally, Gu Cheng saw their little exchange. Upholding the fine virtue of listening to his wife in all things, he went along with it.

Gu Cheng said, "All right. There are scallions in the backyard. I'll pull a few up and make Scallion Oil Noodles for lunch."

Ye Ruan smiled softly, wiping the dust from Gu Cheng's jaw with his fingers and sweeping away the dripping sweat with his palm.

He turned his face slightly, and a figure appeared at the edge of his vision.

Gu Cheng squeezed the little bunny's fingers. "Don't mind him. You've got me."

Watching their retreating backs, Zhao Quan, hidden behind the truck, spread his lips into an eerie grin and stared fixedly at Ye Ruan.

A special person. A rabbit.

Something precious to Gu Cheng.