Chapter 842 Sweet Time After a long and tiring journey, it was evening when Lu Qingyang stepped into the courtyard.
In the courtyard, the little girl and the little fish gathered around Chen Mo, listening to her story, the gentle glow of the setting sun falling on them.
"Dad!" The sharp-eyed girl spotted him first and rushed over like a cannonball.
The fish also cried out and opened their hands.
Upon hearing the sound, Shen Mo looked up, a delighted smile instantly spreading across her face. She put down her book and stood up.
But Lu Qingyang walked up to her in a few steps, looked her over carefully, and frowned slightly: "It's only been a few days, why do you look a little thinner? Have you been busy with departmental matters and not eating properly?"
The pain in her voice was undeniable.
Shen Mo smiled helplessly and said half-jokingly, "If you spend several days in a row in the lab facing formalin-preserved specimens and cadavers on the dissection table, let's see how much appetite you still have."
Lu Qingyang was taken aback, then naturally reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, gently pulling her closer to him, his voice softening:
"You've worked hard. I'll treat you to a nice meal tonight. I'll make you something light and nourishing."
He leaned close to her ear, lowered his voice, and said with warm breath, "I've missed you so much these past few days."
Shen Mo's face flushed slightly, but deep down she felt a warmth from his straightforward expression of longing and thoughtful promise.
“Okay,” she nodded gently, her eyes tender. “Then I’m really looking forward to tasting Master Lu’s cooking.”
Lu Qingyang smiled, let go of her, bent down and picked up one child in each arm, then picked up the local specialties and said loudly, "Let's go! Look what good things Dad brought back for you. Tonight we'll have a home-cooked meal that's not greasy, but guaranteed to be so delicious it'll make your eyebrows fall off."
Aunt Liu offered to help, but Lu Qingyang told her to rest aside and that he would do it himself.
The table was laden with food: a bowl of milky white vegetable and tofu soup, the vegetables in the soup as green as jade.
A bowl of tender, golden-yellow steamed shrimp and egg, cooked to perfection.
A plate of stir-fried tender pea shoots, made with only minced garlic and a little salt, retains the natural sweetness and crispness of the pea shoots to the greatest extent.
There was also a dish of sugared tomatoes made with tomatoes that had a particularly sandy texture; they were bright red and looked very appetizing.
The staple food is thick white rice porridge, cooked until the rice oil is cooked out.
"Aunt Liu, please sit down and eat with us." Lu Qingyang called out to Aunt Liu, who had been helping to look after the child.
The family sat around the eight-immortal table, with bowls and spoons placed in front of the head and the fish.
"Momo, try this green vegetable," Lu Qingyang ladled a bowl of soup for Shen Mo and then put a piece of green vegetable in her bowl. "This was grown by Zhou Gang's family. They didn't use any chemical fertilizers. It's different."
Shen Mo took a sip of the soup, which was light and sweet. She ate a bite of the greens, which were indeed delicate and had a unique fresh aroma. Her appetite, which had been ruined by the smell of the laboratory for days, seemed to be quietly awakened by this simple taste.
She scooped up another spoonful of steamed egg, so tender and smooth that it hardly required any chewing. With the natural freshness of the egg custard and the springy texture of the shrimp, the warmth settled comfortably in her stomach.
"Mmm, it's delicious," she looked up at Lu Qingyang, her eyes filled with genuine smiles and relaxation. "It tastes much better than what you get in the cafeteria or restaurants."
Aunt Liu praised, "Qingyang's cooking skills are getting better and better. The dishes look light, but they taste delicious and make your stomach feel comfortable."
With her cheeks bulging, she shoveled at the porridge in her bowl and mumbled, "Dad's cooking is just as delicious as Mom's!"
The fish grabbed a sweet tomato with its hands, eating it with juicy goodness, its face full of satisfaction.
It was late at night, and the children and Aunt Liu all went to bed.
The light in the room was still on, casting a warm yellow glow.
After washing up, Lu Qingyang and Shen Mo finally had some real time alone together.
After not seeing each other for several days, longing quietly flows in the stillness.
Lu Qingyang walked over and gently embraced Shen Mo, who was applying face cream in front of the dressing table, from behind. He rested his chin on the top of her hair, which exuded a faint scent of soap, and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. He felt that she seemed to be even thinner than before she left home.
"You've been home alone all this time, it must have been tough on you," he whispered in her ear, his voice filled with tenderness and apology. "How's your internship at the hospital? Are you settling in well?"
Shen Mo put down the round mirror, relaxed her body, leaned into his arms, and sighed.
The sigh was tinged with obvious weariness, but his eyes did not dim.
"It's tiring, really tiring. I have to stand for several hours almost every day, follow the teachers on rounds, write medical records, observe surgeries... Sometimes the emergency room comes in the middle of the night, and I have to get up and go with them. I see a lot of patients, and the situations are complicated. My mood goes up and down with them."
She paused, raised her hand to rub her temples, and continued, "But... it's also very fulfilling. Every time I learn to handle a new situation, every time I see a patient I've treated improve, that feeling... is hard to describe. I just feel that what I've learned is truly useful."
Lu Qingyang listened quietly, imagining her in a white coat, hurrying along the hospital corridor, her busy figure bending over to examine patients at their bedsides.
That was a completely different world from his business world, yet it required the same immense effort and sense of responsibility.
He tightened his arms, holding her even closer.
“My Momo has really grown up, and she can stand on her own now.” His tone was filled with pride and pity. “Don’t push yourself too hard, you’re so thin, it hurts to see you like this.”
Shen Mo turned around in his arms, looked up at him, her eyes sparkling under the lamplight, with a hint of reproach and a smile: "Then you should come back more often to cook delicious food for me and fatten me up, as a way of making up for what you did wrong."
"Okay, it's a deal." Lu Qingyang lowered his head, his forehead gently touching hers, their breaths mingling.
All awkwardness vanished at this moment, leaving only an increasingly intimate tenderness.
He chuckled softly, "Then tonight... let's treat my hardworking Dr. Shen to a good meal?"
A blush rose on Shen Mo's face, but she didn't flinch. She simply punched his chest lightly: "You're such a jerk..."
The moonlight outside the window was hazy, while the lamplight inside cast lingering shadows.
Couples who have been separated for a long time have their own ways of dispelling fatigue, comforting their longing, and rediscovering that most intimate connection.
That night, spring was gradually intensifying in the courtyard house.
Lu Qingyang had also made up his mind to continue studying under Professor Qian for a few more years.
The previous generation was a PhD, and this generation is destined to become a PhD as well.
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