Chapter 175 Published
He said apologetically, "I should have arrived the day before yesterday, but I was delayed."
Nan Zhiyi was stunned for a moment; she had indeed forgotten this day.
She hugged him: "You're so sweet, I completely forgot, and I didn't prepare a gift..."
He gently stroked her long hair: "You are my best gift."
At this time last year, he was away on a mission, while Nan Zhiyi, pregnant with Xiaoman, was alone in the family compound. The two missed their first anniversary.
"We'll spend every year together from now on," she said, her voice muffled against his chest.
"good."
Gu Xiao placed another slightly flatter jewelry box in her palm.
Nan Zhiyi opened it, and there lay an exquisite pearl necklace on the black velvet, each pearl round and lustrous, gleaming gently under the light.
The pendant is a small gold locket, intricately carved with a lotus scroll pattern.
"These are South Sea pearls that I had someone bring them for me." His voice was deep. "I know you've loved pearls since you were little."
Nan Zhiyi held her fingertips above the pearl, not daring to touch it.
She recalled the ivory boxes on her mother's dressing table when she was a child, with similar beads lying in the velvet compartments inside.
Back then, she would always tiptoe to touch it, and her mother would smile and say, "When you grow up, I'll give it all to you..."
Later, those boxes disappeared without a trace.
On her sixteenth birthday, her father gave her a pair of pearl earrings, but she doesn't know where they went.
“Wearing this now is too flashy…” she said softly, but her gaze lingered on the pearly sheen.
Gu Xiao picked up the necklace and put it on her: "You can wear the gold watch anytime, but wear this necklace for a while... There will be a day when you can wear it openly in the future."
She suddenly understood the deeper meaning in his words, her eyes welled up with tears, and she threw herself into his arms.
Gu Xiao stroked her slightly trembling back: "Gu Yan has also taken care of things. He bought a pair of Shanghai brand couple watches for Anping and the others, with engravings on the dials. They'll take them back for the New Year."
"good."
Nan Zhiyi thought it best to give the young couple in Anping a pair of matching watches, which would be both practical and presentable.
The snow outside the window reflected off the curtains, casting a hazy glow on the room.
Xiaoman rolled over in her crib, smacked her lips, and fell asleep again.
Gu Xiao lowered his head and kissed her forehead: "When I retire, I'll take you to Qingdao to see the sea. I heard that girls there wear pearl necklaces, you'll definitely look the best in them."
Nan Zhiyi burst into laughter through her tears: "How many years would that take? I'd be an old lady by then."
“The old lady is also the most beautiful old lady.” He wiped her eye with his thumb. “You wear a string of white pearls and a blue cheongsam, just like you used to.”
"Then I want to go to so many places, to Suzhou, Huangshan, Yunnan..."
“So many places,” he frowned, feigning seriousness, “we need to apply for an extension of our retirement age.”
Nan Zhiyi laughed and punched him, but he pulled her into his arms tightly.
Remembering something, she asked again, "You've spent all that bonus again, haven't you?"
He entrusted all his allowance book to her for safekeeping, and his only extra income came from the subsidies he received for missions.
"I have a wife who gives me pocket money."
"Judging from your performance..." she said smugly, raising her chin. "This time... you're allowed to get an extra ten yuan."
He chuckled softly, kissing her until she was breathless before letting go: "How about a different reward?" His fingers gently unbuttoned the first button of her collar.
He casually turned off the desk lamp, leaving only the snowlight from outside the window and the sound of breathing in the darkness.
A soft murmur suddenly came from the crib.
The two of them paused simultaneously, held their breath, and waited for a few seconds until Xiaoman fell asleep again.
Gu Xiao sighed, resting his forehead against hers: "We need to let him sleep alone sooner rather than later."
Nan Zhiyi gently pinched his arm, "He's still young..."
After December arrived in Beijing, the north wind blew even stronger.
Fortunately, the small building was warm and cozy, and the radiators were so hot you could dry a towel in them.
Xiaoman, wearing a padded onesie, crawled on the floor with her bottom sticking up. Gu Xiao had specially asked a carpenter a few days ago to install a small fence at the top of the stairs.
As Sister Zhang wiped the floor, she laughed and said, "Xiaoman is climbing more and more nimbly; we have to keep a close eye on her."
Nan Zhiyi was staring at her manuscript, feeling troubled. She had originally planned to finish her 400,000-word novel before the new year, but now she was still 50,000 words short, and she felt the writing was becoming increasingly disjointed...
The doorbell rang downstairs.
Sister Zhang went downstairs to answer the door, and came back up shortly after: "Sister-in-law, Editor Lin is here, carrying big bags and small packages."
Nan Zhiyi quickly put down her pen. "Sister Zhang, could you please watch over Xiaoman for a while?"
She hurried downstairs, and Lin Yuan stood in the entryway stamping the snow off his feet; the shoulders of his wool coat were covered in white.
Several mesh bags and paper bags were piled up at my feet, all tightly tied with hemp rope.
"Why did you come with such heavy snow?"
Lin Yuan hung his hat and coat in the entryway, took off his glasses and wiped the fog off: "The publishing house gave the authors a New Year's Day bonus, and I brought it to you as well."
Nan Zhiyi was surprised that the magazine and Lin Yuan were still thinking of her, and she twisted her hands apologetically: "I'm so sorry, the article isn't finished yet..."
"Don't rush me, I'm not here to urge you to submit your manuscript." Lin Yuan quickly waved his hand. "Authors who submit their manuscripts on time like you are extremely rare. Everyone in the publishing house says you are serious and responsible, and readers' letters all praise how the later plots are getting more and more exciting."
As he spoke, he took out a thick stack of letters from his bag. "Look, these are all yours. There are also illustrations of the female captain drawn by readers. I think they're even more impressive than the ones drawn by the art editor."
Nan Zhiyi took the stack of letters, which weighed about two or three pounds.
The envelopes came in all shapes and sizes, some even bearing commemorative stamps.
"Editor Lin, please come in and have some tea."
She brewed tea herself, and the two sat on the sofa in the living room.
Lin Yuan warmed himself by holding his teacup: "I actually have a favor to ask of you today. The editorial department is discussing publishing a 300,000-word standalone volume first. Science fiction is scarce in the market right now, and a good work like yours is truly rare."
Nan Zhiyi was taken aback: "Can it be published as a standalone book now?"
"The situation has eased..." Lin Yuan lowered his voice. "Science fiction is a rare genre, and the readers' response has been good. The editor-in-chief specifically consulted with him, saying that it could be used as an attempt at literary exploration. He hopes that you can expand the story to 500,000 words. The first 300,000 words will be published as a standalone book, and you can write the last 200,000 words at your own pace. Just submit the manuscript within six months."
Nan Zhiyi gripped the edge of the manuscript paper: "But the original outline was already finished..."
"That's exactly what I wanted to talk about." Lin Yuan took out a few pages of outline from his briefcase: "We editors discussed it and felt that the storyline of the female captain discovering extraterrestrial civilizations could be further developed. For example, we could add technological differences between different civilizations, and also..."
Nan Zhiyi's eyes grew brighter the more she listened.
"Reader feedback also provided inspiration. One researcher even drew a diagram of a wormhole..."
The two discussed for over an hour.
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