Chapter 446 Vinegar
He glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "It's almost 6:30, time for dinner. Shall I carry you downstairs?"
Nan Zhiyi then remembered that she was still clinging to him like a koala, and her ears burned as she tried to slide down: "I can walk by myself..."
"Hug me whenever you want, leave whenever you want?" He raised an eyebrow.
"You..." Nan Zhiyi punched his shoulder, "You're a big bad guy!"
"Hmm." Gu Xiao chuckled and actually carried her towards the door, "You big bad guy carrying your wife downstairs."
After only two steps down the stairs, Nan Zhiyi panicked: "Quick, put me down! Sister Zhang and her son are down there..."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Gu Xiao's steps were steady, his arms as firm as iron hoops. "I'm holding my own wife."
He felt the person in his arms gently pat his shoulder, so he took two more steps down the stairs and put her down at the corner, then smoothed out her disheveled clothes.
Gu Zhao was still watching TV when she heard the voice and turned around: "Mom, are you awake? Are you feeling better?"
"It's much better now." Nan Zhiyi walked over and rubbed her son's little face.
Sister Zhang came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of soup. Seeing this, she smiled and said, "You don't need to drink the hangover soup. I made an appetizer soup, it's sour."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Zhang." Nan Zhiyi rolled up her sleeves. "I'll help set the table. You should head home early today."
The two of them set out the food together, and then Sister Zhang took off her apron and left.
At the dinner table, Nan Zhiyi held her chopsticks absentmindedly. After finishing half a bowl of appetizer soup, she used her chopsticks to stir the rice in the bowl.
Gu Xiao reached out and touched her forehead: "Still dizzy? Can't eat?"
“No…” she shook her head, “I just don’t have an appetite.”
Gu Xiao sighed inwardly. Although he found her charming demeanor when she was slightly drunk amusing, her loss of appetite after drinking always bothered him, as his wife was already rather thin.
Under the table, he gently nudged her leg with his knee.
Nan Zhiyi looked up and met his calm gaze, which clearly said: Eat some.
She then lowered her head and carefully picked up a piece of stir-fried kale with her chopsticks.
Seeing this, Gu Zhao stood up: "What would you like to eat, Mom? I'll get it for you!"
Nan Zhiyi casually pointed to the stir-fried cabbage in the distance, and the child tiptoed up and piled a full chopstickful next to her bowl.
Not to be outdone, Gu Xiao added another piece of sweet and sour pork ribs.
The father and son went back and forth, and Nan Zhiyi's bowl was piled high with food.
She was both amused and exasperated: "I really have to hold on."
After the meal, the father and son tacitly cleared the dishes and went into the kitchen.
Nan Zhiyi went upstairs, first changing the sheets and blankets that smelled of alcohol, then cracking the window open. The cold winter night wind blew in, dispersing the lingering smell of alcohol in the room.
After quickly cleaning the room, she took out a bottle of jasmine perfume from the dressing table drawer and sprayed it lightly into the air twice.
When I carried my change of clothes into the bathroom, the bathtub was already filled with water.
The hot water steamed up a white mist, and she took off her clothes, sank into the water, and sighed comfortably.
The effects of the alcohol completely wore off, but my thoughts became increasingly clear.
She thought that Yueyue's wedding gift was settled, but Gu Yan's was still undecided. Anything that money could buy was too ordinary for him now.
Unconsciously, my fingers drew circles on the warm water, ripples spreading out and then closing.
painting?
Why not paint a portrait?
The painting depicts Gu Yan and Chen Anna standing side by side under the pomegranate tree at the Gu family's old house.
Although her painting skills are not professional, she has the advantage of understanding Gu Yan's charm at each stage, from his lively eyebrows and eyes when he was young to his composure in business today.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the bathroom door.
"Wife," Gu Xiao's voice came through the door, "the water's probably getting cold."
Nan Zhiyi then realized that her fingertips had become wrinkled from being soaked in water.
"Is your son asleep?"
"Read '100,000 Whys' in bed."
Gu Xiao had already pushed open the door and come in, holding a dry towel in his hand.
"I'll take care of my wife."
Nan Zhiyi glared at him: "The door wasn't even closed properly..."
Perhaps Nan Zhiyi's drunken teasing in the afternoon had gone too far, because Gu Xiao was unusually clingy that night. She whimpered and begged for mercy, trying to escape by feigning sleepiness, but he coaxed her, saying, "You slept in enough this afternoon, you can sleep in again tomorrow..."
The next day, she had no desire to sleep in; she was preoccupied with painting and woke up just as dawn was breaking.
The soreness in her waist and legs reminded her of the absurdity of the night. She bit her lip, lightly punched the empty pillow next to her, and then got up with a yawn.
After breakfast, Nan Zhiyi took out her dusty painting tools and set them up on a shelf in the study.
Gu Zhao also joined in the fun and became her mother's little model.
She spread out a sketch paper and began sketching Gu Zhao, who was assembling a model beside her.
After finishing the simple sketch, I switched to watercolor paper.
Mix vermilion and ochre to create the rosy blush on a child's cheeks, then gently spread the ink on the paper with a brush dipped in water, giving the sweater a soft, warm feel.
By the time the last stroke was finished, it was almost lunchtime.
Nan Zhiyi called to her son, "Gu Zhao, come and see."
Gu Zhao ran over, "Mom drew me! It's so beautiful!"
He carefully took the drawing paper and ran to the mirror to compare it. "This is so similar! I had this expression yesterday!"
Nan Zhiyi felt confident, and after lunch, she changed to a larger sheet of watercolor paper.
She held the paintbrush, the tip hovering above the paper, hesitant to bring it down.
He closed his eyes and thought for a long time: the aloof Gu Xiao in his youth, the cold and stern Gu Xiao in his young adulthood... and the gentle-smiling Gu Xiao, the Gu Xiao with moisture on his eyelashes...
Finally, she made her first stroke.
When painting Gu Zhao, the brushstrokes were light and free, but when it came to Gu Xiao, every stroke became more careful. The more he cherished it, the more afraid he was of failing to capture its spirit.
The curve of her brow bone, the lines of her nose, the usual restrained pursing of her lips…
She was so focused on her drawing that she didn't even notice Gu Zhao quietly coming in.
"Mom, this looks like Dad... but not as fierce as Dad."
He mimicked Gu Xiao's usual expression, putting on a stern face and frowning, "Dad is always like this."
Nan Zhiyi was amused.
Indeed, Gu Xiao in the painting has gentle features, reflecting the most tender image in her heart. Although her technique is still somewhat immature, she has captured about 70-80% of the spirit of the character.
After she finally finished lining the first gold trim on the epaulettes, the study door was gently pushed open, and Gu Xiao returned.
Under the warm yellow lamplight, Nan Zhiyi frowned slightly, her fingertips, stained with watercolor, hovering over the drawing paper like a butterfly waiting to land.
"You're back?"
Gu Xiao approached and grasped her wrist: "The light is too dim, it'll hurt your eyes."
Nan Zhiyi obediently put down her pen, closed her eyes, and nestled into his arms. Her eyelids were indeed dry and itchy, and her temples were throbbing slightly.
"Gu Zhao complained that you stayed in the study all day."
He glanced at the painting, which was beginning to take shape on the easel, and asked, "Why did you suddenly decide to paint?"
"Hmm, I'm thinking about a wedding gift for Gu Yan. I'll paint a portrait to express my feelings, but I need to practice first..." She buried her face in his chest and smelled the familiar scent of soap on him.
Gu Xiao was silent for a moment, then gave a very soft hum: "Oh? I only got this because of Gu Yan. Otherwise, when would my wife have thought to paint me?"
He said in a low voice, "...The first one I painted was my son."
He had just gotten home from get off work when Gu Zhao, holding two sheets of drawing paper, practically wanted to shove them in his eyes to show off... What an unfilial son.
The sour tone in her voice made Nan Zhiyi laugh.
She tiptoed and nuzzled his chin with her nose: "Minister Gu, are you jealous?"
"Yes. It's obvious."
"The first painting I did paint was indeed Xiaoman, but that's because it's easy to paint."
She leaned close to his ear, her breath warm and gentle, "To paint you, I have to sketch you a thousand times in my mind first, afraid of drawing even a single eyebrow wrong... I remember every expression of yours so clearly that I dare not put pen to paper easily."
Gu Xiao looked down at her, his gaze falling on her moving lips: "Do you still have any more of these sweet words?"
"besides……"
Her fingertips traced the buttons on his shirt. "When I drew Xiaoman, I thought he was cute; when I drew you, all I thought about was..."
...
After finally appeasing this jealous man, Nan Zhiyi felt her legs were sore and weak.
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