Chapter 60
After Chief of Staff Gao had appeased his mother, he knew there was still someone else inside who needed to be appeased, so he continued to muster his energy.
Before trying to comfort them, he took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and then went back to his room to see his wife and daughter.
When he came in, Qiao Hui was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the child on the bed.
This is a common problem for many new mothers. When they see the little one in their arms, they can't help but wonder in surprise, "This little one, I actually gave birth to her? Who does she look like?" They're not sure, so they keep looking.
As I looked at it, I became mesmerized, and I could stare at that little face all day without getting tired of it.
When Gao Wenbin came in, Qiao Hui only glanced at him before looking away.
Gao Wenbin pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, looking at his daughter on the bed with her. Seeing her little face, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed and said, "Huihui, our daughter is so well-behaved. She doesn't make a fuss and sleeps quietly by herself, never causing any trouble for anyone."
Qiao Hui wasn't buying his act. She cast a cold glance at him and said in a chilling voice, "What? You just finished appeasing your mother, and now you're trying to appease me?"
The house wasn't soundproof, so she could hear him coming home and him coaxing his mother.
Actually, this kind of thing had happened before. Before she joined her husband in the military, whenever he came back from the army, if she and her mother-in-law had a conflict, he would mediate between them.
Whether as a son or a husband, he is qualified. Even his father-in-law hopes that he can come home more often. With such a son, his father-in-law doesn't have to be caught in the middle.
Gao Wenbin held her hand and said, "You are my wife, and you are still in your postpartum period. I can't bear to make you angry. If you're angry, just let it out on me. Don't keep it inside and feel bad."
"Smooth talker!" Qiao Hui blurted out, knowing he was a smooth talker and she couldn't out-argue him.
Gao Wenbin laughed, "This isn't just glib talk, it's my truest feeling! You're my wife, so of course I have to take good care of you and not let you suffer any injustice."
Qiao Hui tried to pull her hand away, but found that he was holding it tightly, so she could only let him have his way.
She stopped looking at him, stared at her sleeping daughter on the bed, and suddenly said, "Gao Wenbin, I don't want to have any more children."
Gao Wenbin paused for a moment, then said, "Then we won't have any more children!"
Qiao Hui was not surprised by his answer. She knew that this man was a very opinionated person at heart. Unlike some men, he did not place too much importance on "carrying on the family line," otherwise he would not have waited until he was twenty-nine years old to have a child.
She continued, "But what about Mom..."
Gao Wenbin squeezed her hand. "It's okay. We won't be living with her anymore. Whether we have children or not is none of her business."
Anyway, they're far away, so we can just ignore them.
Qiao Hui said, "How could we not care? She can call or write, or even take time off to come over."
If the in-laws want to pressure you to have a child, they will always find an opportunity.
"Don't worry, even if Mom and Dad take leave to come, they can't stay here for too long. We'll just ignore them." Gao Wenbin gently pulled her arm, and as she leaned over, he reached out and put his arm around her waist, pulling her into his arms. "Whether or not we have children is our business. We don't need to listen to them."
Qiao Hui leaned against him, and because of what he said, she couldn't push him away for a moment.
She added, "But my parents will retire. What if they come and live with us after they retire? They'll keep urging us to stay..."
My parents-in-law had three children: two daughters and one son.
Gao Wenbin is the youngest son in his family, with two older sisters.
In the years since they were married, her two older sisters-in-law were very dissatisfied with her because she refused to accompany him to the military camp and did not conceive. Every time they went back to their parents' home, they would help their mother-in-law to belittle her. They also disliked her overly beautiful appearance and said some extremely hurtful things.
Of course, she didn't just swallow her anger.
The result was that the whole family was in chaos. She didn't get along well with her two older sisters-in-law and had no affection for them. Even her father-in-law sighed behind her back.
Whether it's her appearance or her personality, she is very unlikable and not the kind of daughter-in-law the Gao family would prefer.
Seeing her unusually obediently nestled in his arms, Gao Wenbin was pleased. Upon hearing this, he said, "Mom and Dad have many years before they retire, so there's no rush. If they want to live with us after they retire, then let them live with us. We'll just find them more things to do."
In his view, people only create trouble for themselves when they have nothing better to do. If you give them more things to do, they won't have the energy to encourage the birth of children.
It's easy to find jobs for parents; as long as they're willing to come over in the future, he can find them work.
Qiao Hui listened to his well-organized and unhurried arrangements, and the tightness in her chest finally eased.
She left his embrace somewhat shyly, picked up her daughter from the bed, and placed her in his arms, saying, "Here, hold our daughter."
Chief of Staff Gao looked at his daughter in his arms, feeling both amused and exasperated.
Originally, seeing that she was unusually calm and spoke to him, he wanted to ask her something, but then she handed him her daughter, so he couldn't put her back, lest she overthink things.
Never mind, there's no rush.
**
Back home, Gu Xi made herself a cup of malted milk powder, then sat down, flipping through the books she had just borrowed while eating the snacks Qian Rong had given her.
This snack is deep-fried, fragrant and crispy, and quite delicious.
He became so engrossed in watching that he didn't realize how late it was until Shen Mingzheng returned.
Gu Xi quickly stood up and followed behind the man, asking, "Big brother, are you hungry? What do you want to eat tonight? Salted pork rice? Or salted pork noodles?"
Meals for two are easy to make and don't require much effort, so Gu Xi sometimes likes to make lazy-style braised rice. The rice and vegetables are cooked in one pot, and the taste is pretty much the same with rice, meat, and vegetables.
Shen Mingzheng turned to her and asked, "What would you like to eat?"
"We had braised rice a few days ago, so let's have noodles today." Gu Xi looked at him. "You make the dough. Hand-rolled noodles are chewier and tastier than dried noodles."
Although dried noodles are convenient, hand-rolled noodles are still more chewy. Gu Xi liked them quite a bit after eating the noodles he made.
Then the two worked together, with Shen Mingzheng kneading the dough and rolling out the noodles, while Gu Xi washed the vegetables and cut the meat.
"What were you doing just now?" Shen Mingzheng asked, so focused that she forgot about time.
"I borrowed two storybooks from Qiao Hui today; they're quite good."
Gu Xi told him about meeting Chief of Staff Gao's mother when she went to borrow books from Qiao Hui today, and how the mother even gave her a bag of local snacks.
When Qiao Hui gives birth, her in-laws will definitely come to visit. I heard that they couldn't come before because of work, but they took leave to come now, so they probably won't stay here for too long.
After chopping the vegetables, Gu Xi washed her hands and gave him a piece of fried pastry to try.
"Is it good?" she asked, staring at him. "I think it's pretty good. I made myself a cup of malted milk powder and ate some while I was reading earlier, so I'm not very hungry."
Because she wasn't hungry, she didn't notice the time.
Shen Mingzheng: "It's alright."
Gu Xi said confidently, "It seems you neither like nor dislike it."
They had been married for about two months, and during that time she had gotten to know some of his habits.
He doesn't care much about food, as long as it fills his stomach, unlike her who would succumb to her appetite. After deciding to live well, she still has a certain pursuit of delicious food.
However, she still wanted him to try the food she thought was delicious. Not caring doesn't mean she didn't know how good or bad the taste was. As long as a person's sense of taste is normal, they will definitely like to eat delicious food.
After completing all the preparations, Gu Xi began making braised noodles with salted pork.
She fried the fatty and lean cured pork in a pot to render the fat, then added other vegetables and stir-fried them. She then seasoned the pork, added boiling water and simmered it for a while. She scooped out half of the broth with a spoon, spread the rolled-out noodles on top, covered the pot, and started simmering. When the noodles were almost done simmering, she poured the broth she had previously scooped out onto the noodles and continued simmering.
While the noodles were simmering, Gu Xi cooked egg drop soup in another pot.
With both soup and noodles, it won't be too dry to eat.
During the meal, Shen Mingzheng suddenly said, "Xixi, I'm leaving for half a month tomorrow."
Gu Xi froze, looked up at him, and then said "Oh".
After deciding to marry him, she prepared herself mentally. He was a soldier, and the two of them could not be together day and night like a normal couple. He could not always be with her.
In fact, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, he became busy and his return time was not as regular as before. Sometimes he even had to do morning exercises or attend meetings at night. When she fell asleep, he had not yet returned, and when she woke up, he had already left again.
Gu Xi asked, "When do we set off?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Gu Xi said "oh" again without saying anything, but you could sense that her mood was somewhat low, not as cheerful as before.
When she went to bed at night, Gu Xi climbed into bed, wrapped herself in the sheet, and lay there in a daze.
When Shen Mingzheng returned after taking a shower, he saw that she was still awake. He was silent for a moment, then got into bed and pulled her into his arms. He gently pressed his fingers against the back of her neck, kneading it lightly to soothe her.
Gu Xi buried her face in his chest, snuggling close to him.
He was very hot and had a fiery temper. It just so happened that the weather had turned cooler recently, and when she snuggled in his arms to sleep at night, she felt very warm and her sleep quality improved a lot.
The thought of him going on a mission and having no one to warm her bed made Gu Xi feel a little reluctant.
Having grown accustomed to the heater beside her, she had to fill a hot water bottle to keep warm if he wasn't around. Although the weather wasn't particularly cold yet, due to her weak constitution, her hands and feet would become very cold as soon as the weather turned slightly cooler, and she needed to use a hot water bottle to warm her hands and feet before she could fall asleep at night.
Shen Mingzheng knew she was still awake, and seeing her silent state, he assumed she was in pain.
I received this notification suddenly today, so I couldn't tell her in advance and give her time to accept that he was going on a mission.
“If you don’t want to be alone while I’m away, you can stay at Commander Gu’s place,” Shen Mingzheng said to her. “I talked to Commander Gu about this today. They have a guest room with a bed and blankets. You can just go and stay there…”
Having been married for so long, he knew perfectly well that she was a girl who loved having company. Even when he held her in his arms, trapping her close like a vine, she wouldn't feel uncomfortable; instead, she would try to snuggle closer to him and fulfill some of his excessive requests.
He was so well-behaved that he wanted to sigh.
For some reason, she felt very insecure, was afraid of the dark, and was afraid of being alone.
Perhaps it was during her fifteen years in the countryside that her adoptive parents in the Xu family failed to provide her with a sense of security, or perhaps it was after returning to the Gu family that the Gu family's cold and disdainful attitude hurt her and also failed to give her enough security.
If he's not around, won't she be scared all by herself?
Shen Mingzheng felt somewhat fortunate that Gu Yuanyang was also there, so that someone could keep her company when she wasn't around.
Moreover, she quite liked Gu Tuantuan, and having a lively and cute girl with her made her less afraid.
Gu Xi shook her head in his arms and whispered, "I don't want to go there."
Although they were her own brother and sister-in-law, they treated her very well.
But that's not her home!
Perhaps it's because from childhood to adulthood, neither her adoptive parents' home nor her Gu family home ever gave her the warmth and security a home should have, so she is very persistent in wanting to have a home of her own.
After marrying him, she came here, and he made her feel at home.
In this house, she can arrange everything as she pleases, and no one will criticize her for whatever she does. She is the owner of this house, a place that puts her at ease.
“That’s not my home,” she murmured. “I don’t want to go there. I…I want to wait for you to come back.”
Even though she would be lonely, she wanted to wait for him to come home.
Shen Mingzheng's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip, pulling her forcefully into his arms and lowering his head to kiss her.
He understood what she meant.
You can sense her dependence on him, and her... feelings for him.
When she asked him to break off the engagement, he noticed that she was emotionally unstable and on the verge of a breakdown. He immediately pulled her back and chose to marry her, wanting to hold onto her.
He didn't know what her feelings for him were, and he knew that she didn't have romantic feelings for him.
But it's okay, he can wait.
Shen Mingzheng didn't expect that he would get what he was waiting for so soon.
She was indeed a very kind and soft-hearted girl, and didn't make him wait too long.
**
Gu Xi slept until dawn. When she woke up, she found that the bed was no longer warm. Shen Mingzheng had obviously been gone for a long time, and she could not feel the warmth he had left behind.
She remained nestled in bed, too lazy to get up.
My back and waist were so sore and painful, and my whole body felt like it had been run over. I didn't even need to lift the blanket to know that I probably had several more teeth marks on my body.
For some reason, he could never break the habit of biting her, sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily, always biting her a few times when they were doing *that*.
Gu Xi gritted his teeth, utterly puzzled, wondering what had triggered him to become so agitated last night.
Is it because they're going to be away for half a month, so they're getting things done in advance?
Thinking about what happened last night, she buried her flushed face under the covers, unwilling to recall it.
It turns out he had always been careful around her, always looking out for her feelings, even when he lost control. But last night, that was a true loss of control; it was terrifying. His stamina was monstrous…
Gu Xi covered her face until it turned completely red and she couldn't breathe properly before she finally let herself go.
She got up, went to the kitchen, and found that they had cooked porridge and two boiled eggs.
This was clearly not something he took out of the cafeteria; he cooked it himself in the morning. He left early, and the cafeteria probably hadn't opened yet, so there was no way for him to go to the cafeteria to buy her breakfast.
Gu Xi ate a little something to fill her stomach, then lay back down on the bed like a useless person and curled up to read a book.
At noon, she heated up the leftover porridge from the morning and had it for lunch.
The day passed just like that.
In the evening, Gu Xi was watering the vegetables when she heard a knock on the door. She went to open it and found that her brother had brought Gu Tuantuan over.
As soon as Gu Yuanyang came in, he said, "Xixi, Mingzheng isn't here. Why don't you come to my place for meals these days?"
Gu Xi: "Brother, no need, I'll eat at home."
"It's alright, we're going to cook anyway, it'll be more convenient for you to cook too. Come on over," Gu Yuanyang said gently. "It's not easy for you to cook by yourself. If Mingzheng knew you were home alone, he would definitely worry that you would just make do with whatever you could."
Thinking about how Shen Mingzheng went to see her yesterday, she knew how worried he was about her.
However, he felt it was normal for Shen Mingzheng to be worried; his sister was indeed quite worrisome and needed to be kept under close watch.
Gu Tuantuan rushed over and hugged Gu Xi's waist, raising her cute chubby face and saying softly, "Auntie, come to my house, I want to eat with you."
Gu Xi: "...Okay."
The little girl is so adorable, I couldn't resist.
Gu Yuanyang smiled at his daughter, realizing that bringing her along was indeed the right decision.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
