The Face-Changing Bag

Several months passed in the blink of an eye. While the An family was actively searching for Jin Sha, Bai Yuyou and the others had also entered their fifth-grade school life. Aside from their increasingly busy lives, Ye Shuang was also mobilizing the Chen family's resources to gather information about Jin Sha.

“...” Ye Shuang stared at the files on his computer in silence. “There’s actually this little?”

Apart from some video footage, Ye Shuang had found very little. It was almost as if someone had deliberately erased all traces of her.

“I can only wait for news from Old Master An,” Ye Shuang thought.

Just then, his phone rang.

“Honey~” Chen Qin’s pretty face appeared on the screen the moment Ye Shuang answered the video call. “Hehe, are you busy with work?”

“Not really. It’s no different from usual.” Ye Shuang smiled faintly. “Did your prenatal checkup go well?”

“No problems. Look.” Chen Qin showed him her belly. She was already eight months pregnant, her stomach round and full, with only one or two months left until her due date.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. I’ll come home and see you tonight,” Ye Shuang said.

“I’m not tired. I just sit around doing nothing every day.” Chen Qin’s complexion had improved considerably. Since she had stopped working and was focusing on resting at home, she looked much healthier than she had when she was still working.

“That’s good.” Ye Shuang smiled.

“By the way, honey, are we really not going to find out whether it’s a boy or a girl?” Chen Qin asked. It was such a simple thing to do, after all. “It would be better to prepare the baby’s things ahead of time, right?”

“What do your parents say?”

“They say they’ll respect our decision.”

“It’s only another month or two. Besides, other people will arrange everything we need by then.” Ye Shuang smiled. “Whether it’s a son or a daughter, it’ll be our precious baby.”

“Hehe.”

...

Although his workload had not decreased, Ye Shuang still left work early, intending to return to the Chen residence. Before leaving the company, however, he remembered to ask An Shiyu and Anshi Yi,

“Do you two want to come home with me for dinner tonight?”

Over the past few months, the two fish had gone to the Chen residence for free meals more than once. No one knew exactly why, but perhaps because of their mischievous personalities, they were particularly fond of by Chen Qin’s mother.

“Tonight?” An Shiyu thought for a few seconds. “Sure. If there’s free food, why wouldn’t we go?”

“What about you?” she asked, then stuck out her foot and kicked the chair beside her.

Anshi Yi, who had been engrossed in her show, looked up when she heard that. “What? We’re going to eat someone?”

“Food.”

“Who’s surnamed Fan?”

“We’re going over for dinner tonight,” Ye Shuang explained.

“Let’s go. Why wouldn’t we?” Anshi Yi immediately agreed. After all, she could stuff herself at someone else’s expense, stay the night for free, and not have to pay a cent. What could possibly be better?

Once they had made up their minds, Ye Shuang sent Chen Qin’s parents a message, telling them he would be coming home for dinner. He then took the two fish with him and headed for the Chen residence.

While driving, Ye Shuang noticed that his phone had rung. He glanced at it and saw a message from Bai Yuyou.

Bai Yuyou: |•ω•`) Are you coming baaaack?

Bai Yuyou: (。•ω•。)♡ I made something delicious. Our daughter and I both miss you.

While waiting at a red light, Ye Shuang read the messages and froze for a few seconds. In the end, he still replied.

Ye Shuang: Sorry, I won’t be coming home tonight.

Bai Yuyou: Okay...

Even though they were separated by a screen, Ye Shuang could almost imagine the little cowlick on the other end drooping sadly. As he stared blankly ahead, a voice came from beside him.

“It must be hard being adored by so many girls.”

Anshi Yi was sitting in the passenger seat. She had apparently peeked at Ye Shuang’s messages, and was now shaking her head with an exaggerated air of wisdom.

“Look, the older one and the younger one already have a daughter. As the third one, shouldn’t we also make a little fish?”

The sheer absurdity of her words left Ye Shuang unsure where to begin complaining. And why had Anshi Yi started referring to herself as the mistress?

“You were looking at my phone.”

“Oh? I was obviously looking at it in plain sight,” Anshi Yi immediately replied.

“...”

Ye Shuang did not bother arguing with the Chao Yiyu any further. He simply focused on driving and arrived back at the Chen residence before six in the evening.

After parking the car, Ye Shuang noticed that Chen Hai’s car was also in the garage.

“Woof!”

The moment he got out, the golden retriever, Xian Dan, came bounding over.

“Good boy. You’re always the fastest.” Ye Shuang rubbed the dog’s head, then suddenly felt something against his back. He paused and discovered that Anshi Yi and An Shiyu had hidden behind him.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, we’re scared of dogs,” Anshi Yi said as she pressed herself against Ye Shuang’s back.

Ye Shuang: “...”

You two would be perfectly happy stewing the dog in a pot, wouldn’t you?

“You’re back?” Chen Qin’s father happened to be standing by the entrance. When he saw Ye Shuang, he greeted him cheerfully, then nodded at the two fish as well. “Hard day at work?”

“Not too bad. Nothing special,” An Shiyu replied.

“We even played several rounds of games,” Anshi Yi added.

Before the two fish could say anything else, Ye Shuang placed a hand on each of their shoulders and asked, “Dad, is Chen Hai back?”

“Hmph.” The moment Chen Qin’s father heard Chen Hai’s name, he let out a cold snort.

“He actually had the nerve to come back.”

Chen Hai had already divorced, and Qiaoqiao had been taken back to her hometown by Feng Shan. Unable to see his granddaughter, Chen Qin’s father was extremely unhappy. All he could do was make video calls with her every few days.

“Dad, there’s nothing anyone can do about it,” Ye Shuang said, offering what little comfort he could.

After entering the house, Ye Shuang did not see Chen Qin anywhere. Instead, he found Chen Hai sitting on the sofa, cracking sunflower seeds.

“That was quick. I didn’t think that car outside was yours.” Chen Hai greeted Ye Shuang and motioned for him to sit down.

“Dinner’s almost ready, and you’re still eating sunflower seeds?”

“So what? I can eat it all anyway.” Chen Hai tossed another seed into his mouth.

For some reason, after his divorce, Chen Hai had stopped going to nightclubs and similar places. Aside from occasionally having a drink or barbecue with Ye Shuang after work, he spent almost all his time in his apartment playing games.

“You didn’t get chewed out by Dad when you came back?”

“I did. What do you think?” Chen Hai glanced toward where his father was standing. “He said he was going to kick me out.”

“Just let him yell at you. You were the one who wanted the divorce, after all,” Ye Shuang said.

“Actually, I’m seeing someone else now,” Chen Hai suddenly said.

Ye Shuang looked surprised. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. I picked someone up. She cooks for me at home every day.”

“You believe that?”

“What do you think?” Ye Shuang rolled his eyes.

“Fine. I really don’t have your luck with women.” Chen Hai leaned back against the sofa and shouted, “Ah, someone get me a beautiful girl to take care of me!”

“Are you insane, shouting that in the house, Chen Hai?”

A voice came from behind them. The two men turned around and saw Chen Qin walking over with her pregnant belly. Though she was wearing a loose maternity dress, her stomach was still impossible to miss.

The moment Chen Qin saw Ye Shuang, a smile bloomed across her face.

“Honey, you’re home~”

Chen Hai curled his lip.

What a complete change of face.