Chapter 49 Night

"Fifth Brother!" Lu Linlang stopped a few steps away, her voice intimate, her gaze fixed on Gu Xiao's face, completely ignoring Nan Zhiyi beside her, "How is your injury? I just heard you came."

She took a deep breath and said in a familiar tone, "I just transferred here and don't know anyone. I was thinking of inviting some old friends from our compound to dinner tonight, to have a get-together and have some fun. It'll be at the military canteen. I've asked the cook to prepare a few dishes. Fifth Brother, are you free tonight? Want to come along?"

"I'm busy." Gu Xiao's answer was crisp and decisive, without any explanation or hesitation.

He didn't even glance at Lu Linlang, his arm around Nan Zhiyi's shoulder, and walked straight past Lu Linlang without pausing for a moment.

She watched helplessly as Gu Xiao protected Nan Zhiyi and walked away.

From beginning to end, his gaze did not linger on her for even a second.

Lu Linlang stood frozen in place, as if she had been slapped hard across the face.

On the way home, Gu Xiao keenly noticed Nan Zhiyi's low spirits.

Remembering Lu Linlang's undisguised malice just now, he silently tightened his grip on Nan Zhiyi's hand.

Lu Linlang...

He was unmoved by the name and the face, but her attitude towards Zhiyi sent a chill down his spine.

Back home, Nan Zhiyi put the medicine and brown sugar on the table, crossed her arms, and went back to her bedroom, her whole body screaming "I'm not happy."

Gu Xiao followed her in, and seeing her slightly puffed-out profile and tightly pursed lips, he understood.

He reached out, wanting to pull her into his arms.

"Don't touch me," Nan Zhiyi said sullenly.

Gu Xiao withdrew his hand and asked directly, "Because of Lu Linlang?"

Nan Zhiyi remained silent, her heart bubbling with bitterness.

"In my eyes, she's just an ordinary doctor. From childhood to adulthood, apart from necessary encounters, I've never had any private contact with her. There are many people who grow up together, but that doesn't mean anything."

"No way!" Nan Zhiyi retorted, her tone laced with sarcasm. "You two are childhood sweethearts! You're about the same age! Everyone in the compound says you two...you're a perfect match!"

Looking at her puffed-up face, Gu Xiao smiled and said, "Then we can be considered childhood sweethearts."

He looked into her eyes. "It's just that you... never played with me when you were little."

Nan Zhiyi was taken aback.

Thinking back to their childhood, Gu Xiao was indeed much taller and more aloof than the rest of the group of children, like a silent and reliable little adult. He entered a junior military academy at a young age and later joined the army.

Many girls in the compound liked him, but almost none dared to get close to him.

His world seems to consist only of training and missions.

Upon closer examination, those rumors about him and Lu Linlang being a good match seem to be nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of the Lu family and certain people in the compound.

This realization eased the bitterness in her heart slightly, but Lu Linlang's jarring address of "Fifth Brother"...

Nan Zhiyi turned her face away, her stubbornness tinged with childishness, "I don't like her calling you Fifth Brother! I hate it!"

She said, as if in a fit of pique or making a declaration, "From now on... from now on I won't call you Fifth Brother anymore!"

Gu Xiao raised an eyebrow, his smile deepening, tinged with amusement: "So what did you call me?"

"Call me by my name!" Nan Zhiyi said matter-of-factly, "Gu Xiao!"

"no."

Gu Xiao flatly refused.

He stepped forward and easily trapped his sulking wife in his arms.

Nan Zhiyi wanted to push him away, but considering his injury, she could only glare at him and say, "Why can't I?"

Gu Xiao lowered his head, his nose almost touching hers, his hot breath brushing against her lips, "Call me brother."

"No..." Nan Zhiyi's words of refusal were cut off by him.

He kissed her until she was breathless, her eyes glistening with tears.

Gu Xiao stepped back slightly, his forehead touching hers.

He stared at her glistening lips, his voice a mix of coaxing and threat: "Call me brother."

Nan Zhiyi closed her eyes in embarrassment, her long eyelashes trembling: "...Brother."

A brilliant light flashed in Gu Xiao's eyes, and he chuckled softly, his expression filled with satisfaction and pleasure.

He kissed her again, this time with a tenderness bordering on reverence.

She was so weak from his kisses that she could only cling to him.

The five-day holiday came to an end in a flash.

Before dawn, the sound of bugles pierced the tranquility of the family compound, and Gu Xiao got up.

Nan Zhiyi opened her eyes groggily, and Gu Xiao leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep a little longer."

She kept the doctor's orders in mind, and as soon as Gu Xiao left, she endured her discomfort and got up to go to the market with Sister Wang to buy chicken, fish, meat and eggs.

When Gu Xiao returned from the cafeteria at noon, he saw Nan Zhiyi busy at the stove, and his brows furrowed.

"It's hot, don't bother. Just eat in the cafeteria."

Nan Zhiyi was stirring the vegetables in the pan with a spatula, the oil sizzling.

"We can hardly eat all the cucumbers, eggplants, and green beans in the garden. They'll get too old if we don't eat them soon, which would be such a waste."

Gu Xiao watched as the steam from the stove rose up on her little face, making it flushed and sweaty.

He paused for a few seconds: "Then... just do something simple, don't overwork yourself."

Nan Zhiyi gave a vague "hmm," but a slight smile crept onto her lips.

She had to follow the doctor's orders and cook him something nice to eat.

So, in the days that followed, chicken soup with a rich medicinal aroma, milky white fish soup, and soft and sweet white steamed buns took turns appearing on the menu.

My skills are naturally rusty.

The chicken soup was sometimes too salty, the fish soup sometimes had a fishy smell that wasn't completely removed, and the stir-fried vegetables were overcooked and wilted.

But each time, Gu Xiao ate silently and cleanly.

He would put the chicken leg into her bowl and gnaw on the chicken carcass, which had little meat; he would pick the tenderest, boneless meat from the belly of the fish and put it into her bowl; he would break open her slightly yellowed steamed bun and eat it all with the vegetable soup.

He rarely spoke, but when she handed him the bowl full of soup, he looked up and gave her a deep look. His gaze was intense, and it sent shivers down her spine.

He held her fingers, feeling sorry for the calluses: "You've worked hard."

Those three simple words made Nan Zhiyi feel they were more worthwhile than any praise.

The warmth of the daytime fireworks created a cozy atmosphere between the two.

But once night falls…

Just as Nan Zhiyi finished making the bed, Gu Xiao, who had already finished washing up, came over, still feeling refreshed.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, his warm palm gently resting on her waist beneath her thin nightgown.

“Zhiyi…” He lowered his head, his fingertips tracing the indentation of her spine, stroking downwards with the force of a wildfire.

Nan Zhiyi's body tensed up instantly.

"No! Your injury! Dr. Zhang said you need to rest, you can't... you can't do any strenuous exercise!"

Gu Xiao's arms remained wrapped around his chest, his eyes darkening.

Looking at her wary and shy expression, he wasn't annoyed at all; instead, a mischievous smile crept onto his lips. "Then... you move. I won't."