Chapter 385 Pudding
At lunchtime, Gu Xiao ate faster than usual.
Nan Zhiyi added half a bowl of soup to his bowl: "No rush, eat slowly."
He took the bowl and gently brushed his fingertips across the back of her hand: "We have to leave at 1:30."
"There's no rush."
After the meal, Xiaoman was taken to the kitchen by Sister Zhang to prepare the ingredients for the pudding.
Nan Zhiyi turned around and went upstairs to pack Gu Xiao's luggage, with Gu Xiao following behind her.
The afternoon heat still lingered in the bedroom as she opened the wardrobe and picked out items from the left and right.
"Would it be good to bring this shirt? It's hot and I tend to sweat."
Gu Xiao leaned against the door frame watching her busy herself. Seeing that she was still stuffing towels and soap into her canvas bag, he finally stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
"Good wife, I'll only stay one night, just bring a change of clothes."
His voice was close to her ear.
Nan Zhiyi paused, realizing that she had indeed packed too much.
She zipped up her canvas bag, turned around, and threw herself into his arms.
"Gu Xiao, give me a hug."
Gu Xiao lifted her up by supporting her hips with both hands, forcing her to wrap her arms around his neck.
In July, her clothes were as thin as gauze, and his body temperature was always higher than hers. At this moment, he was pressed close to her, like a branding iron.
Nan Zhiyi felt her whole body burning up.
"My wife feels so comfortable to hold, so cool," he whispered in her ear, his lips brushing against her earlobe and landing on her neck.
The kiss deepened, and his hands became restless, gently caressing her back before slowly moving downwards.
Nan Zhiyi's heart was pounding, but she couldn't bear to push the door open. She only asked vaguely, "Is the door locked? What if Xiaoman..."
"It's locked."
He gave a brief reply and kissed her lips.
Gu Xiao paused when he heard the horn of a jeep downstairs. He slowly released her, bit her shoulder lightly, leaving a shallow tooth mark, and then kissed the tooth mark.
"Honey, don't see me off," he said, straightening her slightly disheveled collar and hair before tidying himself up. "I'll be back tomorrow night. I'll take a vacation then and take you to Beidaihe."
Nan Zhiyi's legs were still a little weak, so she gently punched him and said, "Okay."
He lowered his head and kissed her lips again before picking up his luggage and turning to go downstairs.
Nan Zhiyi listened to his voice saying goodbye to Xiaoman downstairs, followed by the sound of a jeep starting up and driving away.
She calmed her breathing and went downstairs to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Xiaoman was tiptoeing, carefully cracking eggs.
"Mom! Aunt Zhang taught me how to beat eggs."
"Our Xiaoman is really capable."
Nan Zhiyi walked over and told her son to continue stirring the egg mixture in one direction.
She then added sugar and milk to the bowl and had her son continue stirring until the mixture became smooth and even.
"That's fine."
Nan Zhiyi filtered the mixed pudding liquid, poured it into several small bowls, and put them in a steamer. "Son, once it's steamed, put it in the refrigerator to chill. Add some honey when you eat it."
In the past two years, we've also replaced the appliances in our home.
In addition to the previous single-tub washing machine, we bought a new Bailan brand twin-tub washing machine, added a Snowflake brand single-door refrigerator to the kitchen, and a 14-inch Venus TV to the living room.
Fifteen minutes later, the pudding was steamed and emitted a rich aroma of eggs and milk.
Nan Zhiyi took them out and put them in the refrigerator to chill.
"When Honghong and Chen Fan arrive, we can take it out of the refrigerator and drizzle some honey on it."
"good!"
Gu Zhao stared longingly at the refrigerator door. Nan Zhiyi found it amusing, opened the freezer compartment, took out an ice cream, and handed it to him: "You can only eat this one."
She took out two more ice creams, handing one to Sister Zhang: "Here, Sister Zhang, let's cool off."
Sister Zhang smiled and accepted it: "Thank you, sister-in-law. There's still some plum juice frozen in the refrigerator. I'll also take out some pastries and cookies, so we can serve them well."
Nan Zhiyi took a bite of the ice cream, and the cool, sweet flavor melted on her tongue.
"Sister Zhang, once everything is ready, don't disturb them. Let the children play downstairs and in the yard, just make sure they don't go outside."
She thought that she should give her son and his friends some freedom.
Gu Zhao is already six years old; it's time for him to learn how to get along with his friends. Having adults watching over him only makes the children feel uncomfortable.
Sister Zhang nodded in understanding: "I'll just close the gate then. I'll just clean and wash in the kitchen, and I can see what's happening in the yard from the window."
Nan Zhiyi then instructed her son, "You can play with your friends at home, but you can't go outside. Safety is the most important thing. Can you do that?"
Gu Zhao solemnly replied, "Don't worry, Mom."
"Then I'll leave it to you, little master. You wait in the living room, Mommy's going upstairs to work, okay?"
"Okay, Mom."
Nan Zhiyi returned to her study and sat down at her desk. The manuscript paper was still spread out where she had written that morning. The fountain pen was full of ink; she twirled it between her fingers and it slowly dripped down.
In the late afternoon, there was another knock on the door.
Nan Zhiyi walked to the window and looked down. She saw Honghong with two pigtails and wearing a floral dress, while Chen Fan was wearing a navy shirt and shorts. Both children had been dropped off at the door by their parents.
Gu Zhao opened the door to greet them in a very formal manner.
"Gu Zhao!"
"Honghong, Chen Fan, welcome to my house." Gu Zhao said in an adult's tone, "My mom and I made pudding, snacks and plum juice together."
The two little guests were overjoyed and followed Gu Zhao into the courtyard.
Chen Fan pointed at the climbing frame, very excited, "You... how come your family still has this?"
Gu Zhao said, "Then let's play together."
Honghong tugged at her little skirt shyly and whispered, "Gu Zhao... I'm going to swing on the swing." This showed that the little girl felt it was really inappropriate for her to play on the climbing frame while wearing a skirt.
Nan Zhiyi smiled slightly, no longer paying attention to the commotion downstairs, and focused on writing.
The pen moved smoothly across the manuscript paper, pausing occasionally to consider the next development.
The children's laughter, running, and occasional arguments became the background noise for my writing.
It wasn't until the sun was setting that she looked up from her manuscript and found that it had quieted downstairs.
She got up and stretched her stiff shoulders.
"Mom!" Gu Zhao's voice came from the stairwell, "Honghong and Chen Fan have come home."
Nan Zhiyi walked out of the study and saw her son running towards her with his rosy little face upturned.
"Did you have fun?" She touched his sweat-dampened hair.
"I'm so happy!" Gu Zhao nodded vigorously. "I even showed them my model airplane."
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