Chen Yi managed two companies and actually had several other businesses. Since they had no other living expenses, their expenditures in Bogotá were quite limited, and all cash flow was reinvested. He had considered asking Bo Zai to come from China to help, but Bo Zai was reluctant to leave his family and kept asking Chen Yi when he would return to China, saying he’d still follow Yi Ge.
One weekend, Meijisi and Pereira had both gone home to rest, leaving only the family of three. Chen Yi was playing with Xiao Chengzi while Miao Jing was cooking in the kitchen when suddenly the phone rang.
It was a call from Zhou Kang’an.
It was the middle of the night in China, so a call at this hour was certainly not trivial.
Chen Yi stood up and answered in a hushed voice, “Officer Zhou.” Hearing him speak, Miao Jing paused what she was doing.
It was good news: Zhai Fengmao was dead. He had ultimately died in the Golden Triangle due to a gang conflict. After hiding and lying low for years, Zhai Fengmao had tried to make a comeback under a new identity but was shot in the head by another faction in the Golden Triangle. The police had already confirmed the body.
With Zhai Fengmao’s death, the old cases in Tengcheng were effectively closed.
Zhou Kang’an also sent over a news article about the holding company Zhai Fengmao controlled in Hong Kong, which had been largely dismantled, renamed, and thoroughly purged.
“Thank you, Captain Zhou.”
Chen Yi hung up the phone, sat calmly in his chair, lost in thought. Catching Miao Jing’s gaze, he curled his lips into a faint smile.
He relayed Zhou Kang’an’s message to Miao Jing.
They had been abroad for nearly five years, and Xiao Chengzi was already two years old. They hadn’t returned to China all this time. Zhou Kang’an had specifically instructed Chen Yi to tell Miao Jing about this matter, as she had always held a grudge over the past events and was angry that Zhou Kang’an had deceived her back then.
“Should we go back to China?”
Miao Jing thought for a long time before asking this question.
“What do you think?”
“If you want to go back, we’ll take Chengzi and go back.” Miao Jing had no objections. “Whatever you decide is fine.”
Chen Yi walked over, took the dishes from her hands, pulled her into his arms, and breathed in her fragrance. “You decide this. If you think living abroad is better, we’ll stay abroad. If you want to go back to China, I’ll go back with you. Your job, your social circle, how you want to plan your future—it’s up to you.”
“Why me?” She found it amusing. “Since when do you let others make decisions for you?”
“I handle the small matters; the big decisions are up to my wife.” His expression was calm as he pecked her neck. “My wife is clever and capable. I’ll listen to whatever she says.”
She tilted her head to return his kiss. “Let me think about it…”
Xiao Chengzi, playing in the living room area, saw the two of them like this and jumped up from the floor, raising her little fists in protest. “Daddy, no! Mommy!”
Xiao Chengzi toddled over to the kitchen, stretched out her chubby little hands to pull them apart, and squeezed herself into the gap between them, expressing her tiny anger: “No!”
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow, picked up the little third wheel, and placed her on the kitchen counter, sighing softly.
“You little rascal, when will you ever say ‘yes’? Mommy belongs to Daddy, and Daddy can kiss her whenever he wants.”
“Mommy is mine!”
“Daddy’s.”
“Stop arguing, both of you.” Miao Jing shooed the father and daughter out. “You two go play downstairs and come back in half an hour for dinner.”The matter of returning to China wasn't settled quickly. Miao Jing had applied several times for overseas assignments and had established stable responsibilities at the Bogotá office. Chen Yi's company and career were currently running smoothly, with no immediate reason to abandon them.
Return to China? To Tengcheng or another city? Both starting over with new jobs?
Yet neither had any intention of permanently settling abroad. They preferred Little Orange to develop a fondness for Chinese food and culture, speaking Mandarin and writing Chinese characters.
There would always be a suitable time to return.
Little Orange didn't enter her language explosion phase until around age three—both her Chinese and Spanish reached astonishingly fluent levels, as if she were making up for all the unspoken words from before, transforming into an absolute little chatterbox.
During her infancy, Chen Yi and Miao Jing loved buying her all sorts of adorable little outfits and dresses. But once Little Orange gained sufficient language skills, she started picking out her own jeans, car-print shirts, little dinosaur t-shirts, insisting on wearing sunglasses and little leather boots—determined to be an awesome cool girl.
When Miao Jing saw Little Orange lounging on a bench basking in the sun—sucking on a lollipop, hands stuffed in jeans pockets, forehead glistening with sweat, face smudged with two streaks of dirt—her mind went into complete disarray.
100% carbon copy of little Chen Yi.
Help! She's only three!
She hadn't forgotten what a little rascal Chen Yi had been in his childhood. Never mind how proper and dignified he appeared now—when they were alone together, that careless, irreverent attitude remained exactly the same as years ago.
By age three, Little Orange was already capable of bringing home a fair-skinned little boy during evening returns. Blue-eyed, pale-skinned, golden-haired, Little Orange came running: "Mom, he's a foreigner from a faraway place. He looks just like a Barbie doll."
The boy didn't speak Spanish—whether he spoke German or some other language, he and Little Orange basically talked past each other, and communication with Miao Jing was nearly impossible. Seeing him alone without any nanny following, Miao Jing haltingly asked where he lived and where his family was. The little handsome boy just shook his head and happily plunged into Little Orange's play area.
Before Miao Jing could escort both children downstairs, the boy's family arrived with police knocking at their door. Everyone stood awkwardly, watching the two children playing together with boundless enthusiasm.
"Can't you teach her properly?" Miao Jing directed her frustration at Chen Yi. "You've been taking care of her these past two years, and look at her now... practically turning into the neighborhood ringleader, constantly luring other kids home to play."
"What's wrong with that?" Chen Yi beamed. "That's my kid through and through!"
Girls should absolutely be like little Chen Yi—bold, domineering, mischievous. That way nobody can bully them.
Chapter 58: Making a Home With You (Part 5)
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