Chapter 51 My ears turned red while I washed her underwear.
Xie Zhongming wanted to suggest that An'an and Ningning come to his father's side.
The word "father" stuck in his throat, trembling. Afraid of frightening his two children, he eventually changed his words and used a different phrase.
"An'an, come to Uncle Zhongming's place."
The two children, each holding a tin frog, walked up to Xie Zhongming, one after the other.
On the roof of the main room, the 15-watt light bulb swayed in the wind, casting a shadow on An Anning's little face, which resembled Qiao Xingyue's face by seven or eight points, making Xie Zhongming feel a pang of sadness.
Although the two children are thin, Qiao Xingyue has raised them exceptionally well. An'an is just as brave, resourceful, decisive, and fearless as her mother. Ningning is quiet, well-behaved, polite, and considerate.
These two well-behaved kids must really be his biological daughters!!
But where was he, the father, when Comrade Qiao was pregnant with An'an and Ning'ning? Where was he, the father, when An'an and Ning'ning were born? Where was he, when Ning'ning was sick?
From the time Comrade Qiao became pregnant until the two children grew to be four or five years old, he never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father for a single day.
No wonder Comrade Qiao did not choose to acknowledge him when she learned that he was her husband.
He picked up An An and Ning Ning.
An'an and Ningning's little bottoms sat on his strong left and right arms respectively. He supported the two children's legs and got up to sit on the long bench.
Inside the main room, Jiang Beiyang, who hadn't left, had been waiting for him for almost an hour, just to confirm whether Qiao Xingyue was indeed Fatty. He wanted a definite answer.
Seeing Xie Zhongming holding An An and Ning Ning, his eyes filled with fatherly love and guilt, Jiang Beiyang seemed to understand.
Jiang Beiyang then turned his gaze to Qiao Xingyue, who was standing to the side—she really was a chubby girl, the wife Zhongming married in Chadian Village, and An'an and Ningning were also Zhongming's two children.
Qiao Xingyue let Xie Zhongming hold An'an and Ningning for a while. They chatted for a bit, then she went over and took An'an and Ningning down. "Uncle Zhongming hasn't finished his dinner yet, let him eat first. Mom will take you to take a bath, and then you can get ready for bed."
Then, looking at Xie Zhongming, he said, "Comrade Xie, your noodles are still hot on the steamer rack of the honeycomb briquette stove. Hurry up and eat them, they're probably already soggy."
The tone was not caring; it even carried a sense of distance.
After saying that, he didn't even glance at Xie Zhongming.
Then he led An'an and Ningning upstairs to get a change of clothes.
Huang Guilan came out of the old lady's house and noticed that Zhongming and Xingyue seemed a little off today.
The way the two looked at each other was different from usual. She noticed that the way Zhongming looked at Xingyue was like a guilty husband looking at his wife after making a mistake.
Looking at Xingyue's gaze towards Zhongming just now, it seemed like the look of an angry wife who didn't want to pay attention to her husband.
Just as Huang Guilan was about to ask, Jiang Beiyang pushed Xie Zhongming out of the main room and all the way to the courtyard. "Zhongming, hurry up and tell me, is Comrade Qiao the fat girl you married in Chadian Village?"
Xie Zhongming did not respond immediately.
He had never felt that this summer night was so hot and suffocating, and that his chest felt so heavy.
Instead of answering, he asked, "Do you have any good ideas on how to win a girl's heart?"
"I... I don't have any good ideas. I've never been in a relationship before." Jiang Beiyang suddenly realized, "Comrade Qiao is Fatty. Is she angry?"
Jiang Beiyang opened his mouth and rambled on and on, "Zhongming, no wonder Comrade Qiao is angry. In the past five years, you haven't been back to Chadian Village once. After Comrade Qiao was kicked out of her home by her mother, she gave birth to two children while heavily pregnant. I don't know how much she has suffered over the years."
Jiang Beiyang thought of something and added, "Maybe Comrade Qiao has lost so much weight because he has never had a full meal in all these years and has saved all the food for his two children. That's why he has gone from weighing over 200 pounds to looking like he could be blown away by the wind."
“I know I haven’t taken responsibility. That’s why Fatty insists on divorcing me.”
Xie Zhongming felt a pang of guilt when he thought about how Qiao Xingyue had gone from weighing over 200 pounds to losing weight to just over 90 pounds after suffering hardships.
"So what do you plan to do? Should you tell Aunt Lan and Uncle Xie about this?"
"Don't tell them yet."
...
Qiao Xingyue carried an enamel basin and scooped a few ladles of hot water from the pot in the kitchen.
Xie Zhongming, tall and straight as a pine tree, walked in and quickly took the enamel basin from her hands, saying, "Let me help you."
The water in the basin was boiling hot, and Xie Zhongming was going to dilute it with cold water for An An and Ning Ning to use for their baths, because he was worried that the hot water would spill and scald Qiao Xingyue.
Qiao Xingyue, however, held onto the enamel basin and refused to let go, saying, "No need."
That was a cold tone.
For so many years she's been used to doing everything herself and handling things on her own, so why is this man suddenly helping her with chores?
If he saw her as the chubby girl who used to weigh over 200 pounds, he would never have approached her; he would have probably kept his distance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone back to Chadian Village to visit her even once in the past five years.
She forcefully pulled the basin of hot water in front of her, but Xie Zhongming snatched it back.
The scalding water splashed out, spilling from Xie Zhongming's arm and then onto his stomach and legs. Although it wasn't boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius, it was still around 70 or 80 degrees Celsius, and his arm immediately turned red from the heat.
Qiao Xingyue was afraid that the water would spill and burn someone, so she let go of her hand.
Seeing that she let go, Xie Zhongming didn't care at all about his scalded arm. Instead, a simple and honest smile appeared on his tightly pursed lips. "I'm fine. You and An'an and Ningning wait a moment. I'll prepare the bath water for you, and then you can go in and take a bath."
Qiao Xingyue led An An and Ning Ning by the hand and followed them to the restroom.
The toilet was small, about three or four square meters. Xie Zhongming filled three basins with hot water and poured them into the wooden tub that An An Ning Ning used for bathing. He then adjusted the water temperature to the perfect level before leaving the toilet.
The enamel basins and wooden buckets used by the mother and her two daughters were all bought by Xie Zhongming himself from the department store. Huang Guilan had reminded him that women are clean and don't like sharing basins and buckets with others. Moreover, women use separate basins for washing their faces, feet, and underwear. He bought a total of three enamel basins and one wooden bucket.
Standing at the toilet door, he waited for Qiao Xingyue to bring the two children inside, then gently closed the door and said from outside, "Comrade Qiao, if there isn't enough hot water, just call me and I'll go to the kitchen to get you some more."
"No need, you should go eat your noodles, they've gone soggy."
Through the door, Qiao Xingyue's crisp and clear voice came from inside, flat and emotionless.
But that sense of alienation is getting stronger and stronger.
Xie Zhongming remained standing at the door, worried that the mother and her two children might not have enough hot water, and did not leave.
In the hot summer, the bath water doesn't need to be too warm; a little lukewarm is just right. Qiao Xingyue noticed that there wasn't enough water, so she added some cold water. After taking a bath with An'an and Ningning, she had the two children brush their teeth and then soaked their dirty clothes in an enamel basin with soap.
The bathroom wasn't big. She opened the door and told An'an and Ningning to go out first. "Go say goodnight to Grandpa, Grandma, and Great-Grandma, then go upstairs and wait for Mom. Mom will come upstairs to tell you a bedtime story after I finish washing the clothes."
The two children nodded obediently.
A small, clustered figure walked out.
Qiao Xingyue squatted on the ground, scrubbing the dirty clothes in the enamel basin.
Suddenly, a pair of large hands reached into the enamel basin and snatched the clothes she was washing. "Comrade Qiao, from now on, I'll wash your and An'an and Ningning's clothes. You can go out and rest."
The clothes that Xie Zhongming stole were Qiao Xingyue's faded apricot-colored underwear.
There is some yellowish discharge on the underwear. Women who have given birth will more or less have some inflammation, which is unavoidable.
Xie Zhongming washed it carefully, making sure to clean the white discharge off the cotton cloth thoroughly, and then rinsed it under running water.
Huang Guilan had told him that women love cleanliness and that underwear must be washed separately from other clothes. So at the time, he bought Qiao Xingyue an extra enamel basin so that she could use it specifically to wash her underwear.
Seeing that he was washing so diligently, Qiao Xingyue quickly grabbed his arm and tried to take back the underwear he was washing.
This was the first time a man had ever washed her underwear, whether in this life or the previous one.
"I'll wash it myself."
As the man, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, rubbed the underwear in his hands, the muscles on his arms stood out, firm and powerful.
Feeling the strong, muscular muscles on those arms, Qiao Xingyue pulled her hand back as if burned. "I told you, I'll wash them myself. These are girls' underwear, how could you insist on washing them?"
Xie Zhongming continued washing the underwear, saying, "You're my wife, it's only right that I wash your underwear."
"Xie Zhongming!" Qiao Xingyue didn't know what to say to him, so she glared at him.
This was the first time she had ever called him by his name.
When Xie Zhongming was no longer addressed as "Commander Xie" or "Comrade Xie," his lips, which had been pressed into a straight line, finally curved into a smile.
He stopped washing her underwear, looked up at her, and asked, "Comrade Qiao, is there anything else you need?"
Qiao Xingyue wasn't moved by his actions. If she were still the chubby girl weighing over 200 pounds, would he still wash her underwear?
The answer is undeniable—definitely not.
"Go ahead and wash it if you want. It's your own choice, I didn't force you."
She stood up from the floor and walked straight out of the restroom.
Xie Zhongming remained in the toilet, squatting on the floor, washing Qiao Xingyue's underwear.
He knew that girls loved cleanliness, so he washed it very carefully. He washed Qiao Xingyue's underwear three times with clean water and checked it carefully. He was relieved to see that the crotch was clean and white.
This was the first time he had ever washed a woman's underwear. Although he washed it carefully and had a lot of strength in his hands, his ears burned terribly while he was washing Qiao Xingyue's underwear.
A barely noticeable hole in his crotch made him stop washing his hands.
These underwear are all torn, but Comrade Qiao still can't bear to change to a new pair. It seems he'll have to go to the department store tomorrow.
Thinking back on all these years, Comrade Qiao has endured hardship and toil with her two children. When I first met the mother and her two children in Shantang Village, their clothes were patched and their shoes were patched again and again. Their lives were so difficult.
Xie Zhongming felt a sharp tug on his chest.
If he had returned to Chadian Village earlier and brought Comrade Qiao to the family compound to live with him, she and her two children wouldn't have had to suffer so much.
Huang Guilan came out of the house, holding an enamel cup, intending to pour a glass of water for Xie Jiang who was writing a report, but she saw her son squatting on the floor of the toilet. When she went closer, she saw that he was holding a pair of women's apricot-colored cotton underwear.
Isn't that Xingyue's underwear?
"Fourth brother, what are you washing?"
Huang Guilan thought she was seeing things. When did the fourth brother get so close to Xingyue that he was washing Xingyue's underwear?
She knew that Lao Si and Xing Yue were both very sensible people. Xing Yue would not let Lao Si help her wash, and Lao Si would not touch a woman's underwear. What, what is going on?
"It's nothing." Xie Zhongming didn't explain. He finished washing quickly, picked up the enamel basin, and went to the courtyard outside the main room to hang Qiao Xingyue's and the two children's clothes on the clothesline.
Huang Guilan poured a cup of hot water, went into the inner room, and looked at Xie Jiang, who was sitting at the table writing a report. "Old Xie," she said, "I saw our fourth son washing Xingyue's underwear. Do you think Xingyue suddenly changed her mind and is willing to date our fourth son?"
Xie Jiang held the pen and looked up. "You see, you've got it wrong. Both of these kids are sensible. How could Lao Si possibly touch a woman's underwear? Xingyue would never let Lao Si touch her underwear either."
Huang Guilan placed the water on the table, saying, "I really saw it."
She was so excited that she jerked the cup open, spilling the hot water onto the table.
Xie Jiang quickly moved the papers off the table, shook them, and wiped them. He didn't scold Huang Guilan for her carelessness. Seeing that the water had spilled and wet Huang Guilan's clothes, he quickly instructed, "Guilan, your sleeves are wet. You have rheumatism and can't wear wet clothes. Take them off quickly and change your clothes."
Huang Guilan had no interest in changing her clothes; she was preoccupied with how to further the relationship between Lao Si and Xingyue, and was about to speak…
At this moment, Xie Zhongming stood in front of the old couple's house, carrying Qiao Xingyue's enamel basin. "Dad, Mom, I'm not going to divorce Pangya anymore. Dad, tomorrow, go to Commander Chen's place and get the divorce papers back for me."
The elderly couple looked at Xie Zhongming at the same time, completely baffled.
Xie Zhongming understood the deep doubt in her eyes, but he wasn't going to tell his parents so soon. He would wait until Xingyue was no longer angry and didn't want to divorce him before telling them that Xingyue was Pangya.
Otherwise, if the two elders knew that Xingyue was determined to divorce him, they would also be worried.
Huang Guilan walked from Xie Jiang's desk to Xie Zhongming's side. "What? You're not going to divorce Pang Ya? If you're not going to divorce her, how can you be with Xingyue? Besides, didn't Pang Ya and the two kids fall into the river and get swept away by the flood? So much time has passed, Pang Ya and the three of them must be dead by now. If you don't divorce her, you're practically widowed."
Xie Jiang got up from his desk and walked over to Xie Zhongming. "Fourth brother, this can't be considered widowed because we can't prove that Fatty is dead. We can only go through the divorce process."
Xie Zhongming, holding Qiao Xingyue's enamel basin, made up his mind, "Anyway, I won't get a divorce. Dad, Mom, don't worry. I'll give you a surprise in a while."
After saying that, he went upstairs, carrying Qiao Xingyue's enamel basin, and came to the door of Qiao Xingyue and her two daughters, and knocked on the door.
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