Zhu Yanyi stepped out of the Ruyi Space and began preparing medicine. Zhang Haitao’s injury made her face a serious issue. Soldiers on missions often faced life-threatening dangers. She needed to make certain medicines quickly and improve some recipes. A thought struck her. Perhaps she could do much more than she realized.
As she worked, a knock came at the door. Zhu Yanyi stayed focused on her task. "Come in. The door is not locked."
The door opened, and Yan Aohan walked in. Zhu Yanyi glanced at her, then returned her attention to the medicine. "Have you finished discussing?"
"Yes." Yan Aohan nodded. she watched her focused expression. "I thought you were angry?"
"Why would I be angry?" Zhu Yanyi asked. If she were angry, it would be at Zhang Haitao. By accepting the mission, she was neglecting her health. As a doctor, she hated patients who wasted their lives.
Yan Aohan smiled softly. "I thought you might be angry at Haifeng." He walked over and sat on the sofa nearby. "Haifeng and Haitao share a very strong bond. Their mother died of cancer when Haifeng was ten. Haitao was only fifteen then, but he had to take on the role of an older brother. He had to protect them from their unreliable father."
Zhu Yanyi heard this and curled her lip. It was a standard story of rich family conflicts, especially between father and son. It felt very dramatic. She remembered novels from the future about such families. Indeed, fiction often came from real life.
Yan Aohan stood up, poured himself a glass of water, and sat back down comfortably. "The Zhang family, where Haifeng belongs, is a top-tier family in the capital. They are no worse than our Yan family. However, the Zhang family has a much longer history. They were already a famous and powerful household in the capital. During the war, they showed great insight by loyally following the Great Boss. After the country was reshaped, the Zhang family’s power grew even stronger. But such families have a common flaw: arranged marriages. Haifeng’s father did not love Haifeng’s mother. Just three months after she died, she brought a woman home and married her."
"Is this stepmother evil?" Zhu Yanyi asked casually. Mostly, it was because novels always wrote it that way.
"Pretty much. Step-mothers back then were rarely kind, as people say. This woman had a vicious heart too. She always wanted her own child to inherit the Zhang family. Unfortunately, her first child was a daughter. But with such ambitious desires, she would do anything. She tried to harm Haifeng many times. Although Haitao was young, she was no longer under her control. Moreover, the Zhang family valued the position of the eldest legitimate grandson highly. They had already sent people to protect Zhang Haitao. However, Zhang Haifeng did not have such thorough protection. That woman originally thought dealing with Haifeng would be easy. She ignored Haitao’s strength. When Haitao discovered her stepmother’s evil plans, she saved Haifeng. Later, to further protect her younger brother, Haitao stepped forward. After securing the inheritance rights, she joined the army. Coincidentally, that woman became pregnant around that time and later gave birth to a son."