"You're my wife, of course I trust you."
Shen Huaichuan's voice was deep and resolute, like a stake firmly planted in the ground, bringing a sense of peace no matter how fierce the wind and rain outside.
The familiar scent of soap emanating from him lingered in Zhou Qiqi's nostrils. For some reason, the sharp edges on her body suddenly softened, and a pang of sadness welled up in her heart.
"Then why are you frowning the whole time? It looks rather fierce..."
She reached out and gently tapped his furrowed brows, her voice soft and aggrieved, like a kitten meowing.
When Shen Huaichuan was touched by her fingertips, his brows relaxed unconsciously, but the tips of his ears suddenly turned red.
He turned his face away and coughed lightly twice, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to appear calm.
"I just suspect you've been slacking off and not training, otherwise how could you have sprained your ankle so easily again..."
"Ahem... let's not talk about this for now."
Zhou Qiqi was surprised that he suddenly brought this up, and feeling a little guilty, she quickly coughed twice, her eyes darting around as she hurriedly brought the conversation back on track.
"After all that Director Zhou just said, aren't you even a little bit curious? You can ask me, and I can explain everything."
Shen Huaichuan shook his head decisively, his jawline taut and straight.
"There's nothing to ask. She's prejudiced against you. I didn't listen to a single word she said."
However, Zhou Shuhua was, after all, his teacher's wife, so out of politeness, he had to offer a few perfunctory words.
"Really? You didn't hear a single word?"
Zhou Qiqi looked up, her eyelashes still glistening with moisture.
Shen Huaichuan met her gaze intently, his expression serious and resolute.
"I won't lie to you."
Zhou Qiqi couldn't help but burst out laughing; Zhou Shuhua's sarcastic remarks had really angered her.
Especially that line—"Actually, as long as you're doing well, it doesn't matter if your wife suffers a little grievance."
She acted like a pitiful old woman.
She peeked through the crack in the door and saw the tone of his voice, his expression, and the smug look on his face after hearing Shen Huaichuan's "hmm" response.
She probably thought Shen Huaichuan would listen to her instigation and teach her a lesson.
If she found out that Shen Huaichuan didn't take it to heart at all, she'd be furious.
However, regardless of whether Shen Huaichuan was curious or not, Zhou Qiqi still felt that she should explain things that were so easy to misunderstand.
At this moment, she felt no anger at all, and only then did she belatedly realize how close she and Shen Huaichuan were, so close that she could hear each other's breath and their skin was touching.
Shen Huaichuan's face was so red it looked like it could bleed, and the dry skin on his lips looked especially pale, probably because he had been traveling for too long and hadn't had time to drink water.
She quickly made the suggestion.
"Why don't you put me down first?"
She gently pushed against his chest.
“I have a lot to say, it could take twenty or thirty minutes, how can you hold me like that forever? You can’t keep it up.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Huaichuan tightened his grip and lowered his voice even further.
"You can give it a try."
"Next time."
Zhou Qiqi casually agreed, not noticing the dimming light in the man's eyes.
"good."
Shen Huaichuan's eyes flickered slightly, indicating that he should take it seriously, and then he carefully placed her down to sit on the edge of the bed.
Zhou Qiqi was about to get up when she said, "I'll pour you a glass of water and cook some noodles. You can eat while you listen."
Shen Huaichuan pressed her back to the bedside and went to pour himself a glass of water.
"I ate compressed biscuits on my way back. Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening."
"good."
Compressed biscuits?
Is that stuff even fit for human consumption?
Zhou Qiqi frowned and her eyes darted around.
However, he nodded and recounted Lei Ming's story from his own perspective.
After saying that, he pursed his lips.
"Anyway, that's how it is. In any case, Lei Ming saved me twice. I was even saying that I would invite him to our house for dinner when you come back. But now that I see how much Director Zhou dislikes me, I'll forget about inviting him to dinner. In a few days, when I go to do business, I'll go to the department store and buy him a suit. I'll pick the most expensive one."
Zhou Qiqi's personality is one of repaying every wrong with kindness and repaying every favor with double the gratitude.
However, she was also a little conflicted, and said while biting her lower lip.
"I just don't know what size he wears. I haven't really looked at him closely. If it doesn't fit, I'll have to go back and forth to exchange him."
Throughout the conversation, Shen Huaichuan's face remained expressionless. But upon hearing her words, he raised his eyelids slightly and offered his suggestion.
"I have to go to the military region to report on my work tomorrow, I'll go buy it, it's on my way."
Zhou Qiqi frowned.
"Is it on the way? I seem to remember it being in completely opposite directions."
"You've got it wrong."
Shen Huaichuan didn't even blink, his face full of certainty.
"Oh, okay."
Zhou Qiqi had no doubts, and Shen Huaichuan continued to make arrangements.
"As for treating him to a meal, don't worry about Director Zhou. Treat him as you see fit. After all, he is your savior. I also want to meet him and thank him properly in person. I'll arrange it."
"Alright."
Zhou Qiqi nodded; she was just looking for trouble.
After saying this, Shen Huaichuan went to boil water for a bath.
After taking a shower, I went to see Zhouzhou.
Zhouzhou was wearing a nightgown made of the same fabric as Zhou Qiqi's. Her hair was in neat braids, and her little face was clean and chubby, with a rosy glow. She looked a little plumper than before Zhou Qiqi left.
It's obvious that they're being well taken care of.
Shen Huaichuan glanced in Zhou Qiqi's direction, his heart softening. He sat down and talked to Zhouzhou for a while.
Although he was rough around the edges when it came to taking care of the child, he would always carefully explain to Zhouzhou what he was going to do before leaving the house, so as not to make her sad or upset.
Of course, it was just him talking, and Zhouzhou just sat at the table, simply listening, occasionally blinking her eyes, her big eyes not showing much emotion.
He's gotten used to these things.
After saying that, he told Zhouzhou to wash up and get some rest, and then prepared to go back to his room, not expecting any response from Zhouzhou.
Unexpectedly, the little girl suddenly grabbed his hand and made him sit down.
Then he went back to the table, took out a piece of sketch paper, and started drawing.
Five minutes later, a simple "drawing" was created.
This painting, with its simple, hasty, and naive brushstrokes, could even be described as somewhat abstract, yet it is inexplicably expressive.
A crooked gray mountain, distorted blue water, and a little man curled up and weeping beside a collapsed black house, while several figures wearing five-pointed star hats are rushing towards them in the distance.
Shen Huaichuan's fingers trembled slightly, and his voice trembled as well: "The drawing you made is of your uncle doing disaster relief?"
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