The shower room was already very hot due to the steam, and with such a large person standing there, it felt oppressive and the space felt even smaller.
Just then, after several busy days, Song Qing suddenly realized a problem: they were going to sleep in the same bed that night.
She had been deliberately putting this issue off her mind for the past few days, but now she finally had to face it.
Song Qing couldn't remember when they last had sex; she had actually lived ten years longer than expected.
Before coming to Northeast China, Lu Yang rarely had time to take a vacation. The more he thought about it, the more his thoughts wandered, and he began to conjure up some indescribable images.
They had always been complete strangers. Although they had met before getting married, they barely exchanged a few words.
Lu Yang joined the army early, and Song Qing used to have a boyfriend, but their relationship was the kind where they would only nod to each other when they met.
Unexpectedly, two almost complete strangers were brought together. He was probably completely bewildered when he came back to get married, while Song Qing was caught in a mix of fear, regret, and disgust.
Nothing actually happened during their honeymoon; An An only became pregnant six months later during another of his vacations.
They've been married for five years, and he's only taken a few vacations. These past few days, he's been busy with house-related matters, which has eased the sense of unfamiliarity, but that's about it.
"I……"
Lu Yang saw Song Qing standing at the door wearing his military overcoat, and his mouth suddenly went dry. He didn't know what to say and felt quite awkward.
Song Qing was initially a little embarrassed, but after a while he became puzzled. What was he doing standing there like that?
"Should the water stay in the bucket or be poured into the basin?"
Lu Yang composed himself, turned his head away from her, and quickly asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Put it in the basin."
After Lu Yang poured the water in, the temperature and heat in the shower room increased, and he himself became hotter and hotter. He couldn't help but imagine how she took a shower.
Bah, you vagrant! You only poured water once, what were you thinking?
After thoroughly condemning himself, he quickly left, and Song Qing had to stand outside the door to make room for him.
The distance from the shower room to the corner of the hallway wasn't far, and when Lu Yang turned around, he glanced back and only saw the closed wooden door.
It was probably because the coal stove was too hot, and the hot water was scalding him, that he was so hot. He ran to the kitchen, but there was no cold water in the teacup, so he could only pour some out of the thermos to cool it down.
In the south room, An'an was lying on the quilt playing with her fingers. When she saw Lu Yang come in, she wiggled her bottom and deliberately changed direction to express her dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately, her father was distracted and didn't register his daughter's emotions at all.
The father and daughter remained in an eerie silence, one's eyes darting around, trying to steal glances at Lu Yang, while the other's eyes darted about, her heart pounding wildly.
It took Lu Yang a while to calm down. He sat down next to An An, wanting to talk to her but not knowing what to say.
Only then did they belatedly realize that their relationship, which had gradually become more harmonious over the past few days, seemed to have become somewhat distant again.
Something's not right. When we were eating, the chair was too high for her to climb up, so she reached out and asked Lu Yang to help her up. What did I do to offend her?
After careful recollection, Lu Yang assured him that he had absolutely not said anything he shouldn't have.
"Would you like to go to the zoo or see a movie?"
The zoo in Xin'an was just built last year. Song Qing took An'an there once. As soon as she heard her father say that she could go to the zoo, she immediately forgot that she was still angry with him and stood up and grabbed Lu Yang's shoulder.
"Dad, let's go see the tigers."
An'an had a very deep impression of that trip to the zoo, and she bragged about it to the other kids in the compound for days. If she could, she hoped to see the big tiger tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Lu Yang's vacation is over, and he still has several days until his next break.
"A big tiger?" Lu Yang deliberately repeated it in a questioning tone. Adults often use this tone to tease children. An An couldn't resist and jumped into Lu Yang's arms, hugging his neck and acting cute.
Is Daddy going?
This tiny, soft bundle nestled in his arms, asking him in a pitiful tone, exuding the scent of soap, was irresistible to Lu Yang. His smile stretched almost to the back of his ears.
"Hmm? Dad."
"Go, go, go. They should still be selling toys at the zoo entrance. I'll buy you some then." Lu Yang hugged her and took a deep breath.
"After we go to the zoo, let's have lunch at a state-run restaurant, then go to the movies in the afternoon, and then go shopping at the department store, okay?"
"Can't we stay in the zoo forever?"
She loves the zoo. The tigers are so beautiful, and there are monkeys too. She wants to keep them as pets at home, but her mother won't allow it. She wishes she could stay at the zoo for a day, no, for two days!
"The zoo closes at night, so we can stay inside until closing time. We'll bring some dry food with us at noon."
Lu Yang carefully considered the solutions. If he wanted to stay in the park for as long as possible, the only options besides not leaving at noon were to buy two tickets.
"Okay, okay."
When Song Qing returned, she saw the father and daughter enjoying each other's company. She was a little surprised that the two of them had become so close. She had only taken a bath once, how could it have such a powerful effect?
An'an, who was smiling, saw Song Qing after she finished showering and immediately reached out to hug her. Song Qing shook her head. She had washed her underwear when she came out, and only when she took it out did she realize something: they hadn't put up a clothesline.
Not only is there nowhere to hang clothes outdoors, but there's also nowhere to hang them indoors. I'm so busy that I've completely forgotten about such a small thing.
She was worrying about how to hang her clothes when Lu Yang saw Song Qing's flushed face after taking a shower, and her slender ankles peeking out from under her coat. His throat tightened again, and he quickly took out a change of clothes from his bag and ran out.
Song Qing didn't want him to see such an embarrassing situation, so both rooms were tidied up. They stayed in the south room, leaving the north room empty.
There was only a kang cabinet and a wardrobe in the north room. By tying ropes to the handles of the two cabinets, a clothesline was created, which was the only way to make do for now.
Fortunately, Lu Yang brought all the clothes hangers he used in his dorm room.
After hanging up the clothes and returning to the south room, An'an stood on the kang (a heated brick bed) and excitedly opened her arms to her. "Mommy, Daddy took us to the zoo."
"Okay, let's go see a movie then." He reached out and caught An'an, who then jumped up and hugged Song Qing's neck.
"Mom, you smell so good! Dad also said he wants to go to the movies."
An'an had forgotten that she had just wanted to stay in the zoo forever; at her age, she often acts on a whim.
Song Qing slapped her bottom hard to pull her down, only then realizing that she was still wearing that military overcoat.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
