Chapter 5

“That’s great!”
Bai Jiaojiao was thrilled, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the man beside her. Life finally had hope! Once this phase passed and Xiao Zhou regained his memory, he’d surely want a divorce. As long as they divorced smoothly, she could avoid the original host’s tragic ending.

“Mm.” Xiao Zhou’s eyes also lit up with a faint smile. His little wife really did care about him.

After leaving the hospital, Bai Jiaojiao realized they hadn’t eaten yet. Since they were already in the city, they decided to eat at the state-owned restaurant.

Xiao Zhou, in fact, had quite a bit of money and had been generous with the original host—giving her plenty of ration coupons and cash. So Bai Jiaojiao boldly ordered a lot of delicious dishes, just enough for the two of them to finish.

After tasting a bite of the hearty lion’s head meatball, Bai Jiaojiao was so moved she almost cried. It tasted far better than the modern pre-packaged meals. She immediately pushed the dish closer to Xiao Zhou.
“Try this.”

Seeing how much she enjoyed it, Xiao Zhou smiled and pushed the plate back. “You eat it. I don’t like this one.”

Bai Jiaojiao pulled the plate back, confused—who would refuse fragrant braised lion’s head meatballs?

Worried he might eat something he didn’t like, she decided to finish all the remaining meatballs herself. But the last half one was just too much, so she left it in her bowl.

Xiao Zhou asked, “Full?”

“Yeah, I can’t eat another bite.”

Without saying anything, Xiao Zhou took her bowl. Before Bai Jiaojiao could react, he dumped her mashed-up rice into his own bowl and calmly ate it as if it were his own. He even finished that last half meatball.

Bai Jiaojiao was stunned, her face flushed. “You just…”

“Can’t waste food.”

“But… you used to not eat my leftovers,” she weakly reminded him.

According to the original host’s memories, Xiao Zhou wouldn’t even touch dishes she’d handled—he’d rather eat plain rice.

He’s going to remember all this later and kill her for it, isn’t he?

Xiao Zhou remained calm. “Now I do.”

After the meal, the two didn’t rush back. Bai Jiaojiao planned to take Xiao Zhou back to his hometown the next day, so she needed to buy some New Year supplies.

This had always been part of her plan—one of the reasons Xiao Zhou became a blackened villain was because the original host schemed to delay his return to the army before the New Year, which indirectly led to the sudden death of his loved ones.

If she could stop that from happening, maybe he’d treat her a little better in the future.

Plus, seeing family might help his memory return—a win-win.

Halfway through shopping, Bai Jiaojiao’s stomach felt uncomfortable. She told Xiao Zhou to continue on while she rushed off to find a restroom.

Restrooms in the 1970s were, to put it kindly, dirty and chaotic. At first glance, Bai Jiaojiao lost the desire to use them, deciding she could hold it for a while longer.

As she came out, she happened to see a kind-looking middle-aged man offering a White Rabbit milk candy to a five- or six-year-old child.

“Your mom told you to come with me. She bought this for you.”

In those days, White Rabbit candy was incredibly tempting for kids. The child hesitated only a second before taking the candy, smiling as he was about to eat it.

Slap!
A slender, soft hand snatched the candy away without hesitation. The kid looked shocked but, upon seeing Bai Jiaojiao’s face, blinked and said,
“Sister, you can have it.”

The middle-aged man was annoyed at first, but seeing Bai Jiaojiao’s face, he paused and pulled another candy from his pocket.
“Here, little girl, this one’s for you.”

Bai Jiaojiao’s lips twitched. She didn’t take it.
“I don’t take things from strangers.”

She bent down and seriously told the little boy, “You shouldn’t either, understand?”

The boy looked up at her with wide eyes and nodded obediently.

Just then, a woman’s panicked voice came from nearby.
“Where’s my child? Did anyone see my boy?”

The middle-aged man cursed, glanced at Bai Jiaojiao, and quickly ran off.

The woman rushed over and, seeing her child safe and sound, breathed a sigh of relief—but then looked warily at Bai Jiaojiao.

At that moment, Xiao Zhou came over with their shopping bags and immediately stepped protectively in front of Bai Jiaojiao. His cold gaze swept over the woman with an intimidating chill.

The woman flinched and backed away with her child.

“So now even human traffickers are this brazen?” he said darkly.

Bai Jiaojiao quickly pulled him back and explained the situation:
“Someone really tried to abduct him earlier. I stopped it. Here, this is the candy the man gave him. He almost ate it.”

She opened her palm, revealing the half-unwrapped White Rabbit candy.

The woman wasn’t dumb. She immediately understood and smacked her son’s head:
“Haven’t I told you not to take things from strangers? What if it was poisoned?”

The boy cried, “Mama, I was wrong!”

Bai Jiaojiao felt a bit sorry for him, but this kind of lesson was necessary.

“Thank you so much, miss. You’re a really good person,” the woman said sincerely.

“Mom, I want to say something to the sister,” the boy said.

Bai Jiaojiao crouched down to cooperate. The little guy waddled over, wrapped his chubby arms around her, and kissed her cheek.

Before she could react, he had already run back behind his mom, face red.
“Sister, when I grow up, I’ll marry you!”

The mother didn’t expect her kid to be so bold and gave an embarrassed smile.
“Kids say the silliest things.”

But when she met the gaze of the man beside Bai Jiaojiao, she quickly grabbed her son and made a hasty retreat.

Apparently, the kid didn’t like Xiao Zhou either. As they ran off, he shouted,
“Sister, one day I’ll save you from that big bad guy!”

The boy didn’t know many words for “villain,” but to him, Xiao Zhou was definitely the worst.

Xiao Zhou’s eyes darkened. He really did hate children.

Bai Jiaojiao stood up and wiped the kid’s kiss off her cheek. “Let’s go.”

“Mm.” Xiao Zhou looked calm, but his gaze turned a bit darker when staring at her face.
He’d lost his memory, and hadn’t even kissed her yet—how come someone else got to go first?

On the way back to the village by ox cart, probably because of what had happened earlier, the others were quiet as quails. They kept eyeing the man without a coat and the woman wearing his coat and using her own as a seat cushion.

Look at that! This woman’s really brainwashed Xiao Zhou!

Not long after they got home, someone knocked at the door. A neighbor’s roof had sprung a leak, and her husband wasn’t back yet. With rain expected tonight, it needed urgent repair.

“Xiao Zhou, could you go help?”
Worried that Xiao Zhou would coldly ruin his formerly good image in people’s minds, Bai Jiaojiao couldn’t help but speak up.

“Okay.”

Xiao Zhou didn’t mind. In fact, he just thought his little wife was too kind.
What would he do without her?

Luckily, he’d always be by her side.

After finishing the task and returning to his door, he found a middle-aged woman squatting sneakily outside. When she saw him, she hurried over.

“Xiao Zhou, don’t let your wife fool you…”