Chapter 29 The Wife on the Marriage Certificate: What the Husband Should Do
One week later, on the morning.
Lin Xili was reading in her room when she suddenly heard the roar of a truck engine downstairs, along with the sounds of workers talking roughly and carrying heavy objects.
Somewhat puzzled, she walked to the window and looked down. She saw three workers getting out of a small truck and unloading what looked like boards, tools, and several large, tightly packed cardboard boxes.
Huo Nanchen stood to the side, directing the workers to carry these things up to the second floor.
The person who goes to the health center for house calls almost every day is surprisingly given a day off today.
It wasn't his master bedroom, nor the secondary bedroom where she was temporarily staying, but the room on the second floor that had always been empty.
Renovation? This timing doesn't seem appropriate, and the house doesn't appear to require major repairs.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Lin Xili gently opened the door and stood on the second-floor corridor watching the workers come and go.
The door to that room was open, and the sounds of hammering, drilling, and fixing could be heard coming from inside.
When Huo Nanchen saw her come out, he looked up at her and said indifferently, "It will take three months for the follow-up examination. It's quite a long time. Just looking at text and pictures isn't enough to give you a clear picture."
He pointed to the materials and boxes that were being moved in and continued, "This is the laboratory prepared for you. Some operations and observations will leave a deeper impression if you do them yourself."
laboratory?
Lin Xili froze on the spot, her heart pounding as if it had been struck by something.
She looked at Huo Nanchen in surprise, then at the room that was being renovated.
He... he actually prepared a laboratory for her?
Just because she mentioned before that she was preparing for a PhD and reading books related to forensic science?
Just because you think that reading texts isn't enough, and that she needs to put them into practice?
A huge wave of emotions, a mixture of shock, emotion, and disorientation, instantly swept over her.
This was completely beyond her expectations, and even beyond all her imagination of the identity of a "legal husband".
The workers moved quickly and efficiently, and the noise continued for several hours.
During this time, Lin Xili stood there silently watching.
She saw the workers install a sturdy lab bench, embed a corrosion-resistant water tank, connect the water supply and drainage, and set up dedicated power outlets and a ventilation system...
Inside those tightly packed boxes, they turned out to be some experimental equipment.
Microscope, centrifuge, balance, constant temperature water bath, and some commonly used glassware and reagent cabinet...
While it may not be as sophisticated as the equipment in a judicial bureau or school laboratory, it is already considered luxurious and complete for a private study and research space.
Especially in this remote rural town, it's easy to imagine how difficult it is to obtain and install these things.
After the workers finished their work and left with the forms signed by Huo Nanchen, the second floor finally returned to silence.
The once empty room has been completely transformed into a small, fully-equipped professional laboratory.
Lin Xili stood at the laboratory door, looking at everything inside, brand new, her fingertips trembling slightly.
She walked in, her fingers gently tracing the cool, smooth surface of the lab bench, her gaze sweeping over the neatly arranged glassware and equipment, her heart churning with turbulent emotions.
How much will this cost?
She turned around abruptly and looked at Huo Nanchen, who had been standing silently outside the door.
He maintained his indifferent expression, as if he had simply bought her a book casually.
“Dr. Huo,” Lin Xili’s voice was strained.
"These...the equipment, and the renovations...they must have cost a lot of money, right?"
She remembered Grandma Huo mentioning his salary: a doctor at the health center earns four thousand yuan a month, not even counting deductions for social insurance and housing fund.
Where did he get so much money?
"This is too expensive. How much did it cost? I'll give you the money back."
She cannot, and should not, accept such a generous gift.
Their marriage was essentially a transaction where she used him to resist her family's pressure to marry her, and he used her to appease his grandmother. Each got what they wanted, and a clean break was the only reasonable thing to do.
Such one-sided and unreasonable sacrifices would make her feel uneasy and burdened.
Huo Nanchen looked at her cheeks, which were slightly flushed from her eagerness, and remained silent for a few seconds.
After a while, he slowly spoke, "No need."
"The cost of living here is low, so there's hardly any opportunity to use the money I save."
Savings? How much money can a rural doctor save after basic living expenses?
Lin Xili wanted to say something more, but Huo Nanchen had already changed the subject.
He walked into the lab, pointed to the equipment, and said to her, "Take a look and see what other commonly used consumables are missing, and make a list for me."
His attitude was so natural, as if building a private laboratory for her was the most natural thing in the world, and not something she should be so surprised about or concerned about the cost of.
Lin Xili’s attempts to insist on repaying the money were all choked back by his matter-of-fact attitude.
As she watched him walk to the lab bench and check the power interface, the ice in her heart seemed to be completely broken and melted by a stronger current of warmth.
He wasn't giving alms, nor was he showing off.
He was simply supporting her in her own unique, silent, and pragmatic way, on the path she wanted to take.
Lin Xili stood there, looking at this brand new little world that belonged to her.
She looked again at the man who had created this world for her, and her nose suddenly felt a little sore.
She lowered her head and blinked hard, forcing back the moisture.
"Why are you so kind to me? Are you like this to other patients too?" she couldn't help but ask softly.
Upon hearing this, Huo Nanchen did not look up at her, remaining focused on examining the equipment.
He simply said, "Although we registered our marriage without any emotional foundation, you are still my wife according to our marriage certificate, and this is what I, as your husband, should do."
Lin Xili's expression hardened.
"Didn't you say that marriage is just about living together?" Lin Xili asked again.
Huo Nanchen shifted his gaze from the equipment back to her face; her dark eyes were like a deep pool, unfathomable.
“Regardless of our reasons for getting married, this is what a husband should do.” He reiterated what he had said earlier.
The wife on the marriage certificate is what the husband should do.
So that's how it is. In his opinion, once you're married, it's a responsibility and an obligation you have to fulfill to your wife, regardless of whether the two of you have a history of love before.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xili's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, but her heart quickly became uneasy again.
He is acting out of a husband's responsibilities and obligations to his wife, but what about her? What are a wife's responsibilities and obligations to her husband?
Lin Xili asked him, "Then... then what responsibilities and obligations do you require me to fulfill?"
Huo Nanchen paused slightly as he checked the power strip. "Grandma likes you. Just chat with her when you have time."
“Okay, and thank you for the things in this lab.” She lowered her eyelashes and said softly.
Huo Nanchen paid no attention to her thanks and continued to examine the items carefully.
He checked the exhaust fan switch one last time to make sure everything was working properly before standing up.
"The check is done, there's nothing wrong." He turned and walked out. "I'll go pick some vegetables from the field to make dinner."
Picking vegetables in the field? Looking at Huo Nanchen, who exuded a kingly aura, picking vegetables in the field, Lin Xili felt a strange sense of disorientation.
She instinctively took two steps behind him and asked, "May I go?"
She added somewhat impatiently, "It's only been a week."
Huo Nanchen stopped, turned to look at her, and lingered on her face for a moment before saying, "It's fine, it won't have any impact."
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