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The four of them went to the biggest agricultural and side market nearby.
They bought a lot of fresh meat and vegetables, rice and noodles, as well as various dried goods.
The weather was cold now, and meat could be kept well, so buying more would save them from having to go to town again during the New Year.
When they came out again, all four of them had their hands full.
But the heavy stuff was all on Zhou Jinchuan’s shoulders.
Today, he had been driving and carrying things all the way, Su Yi was afraid he would get tired and drive recklessly, so when they got in the car, she handed him the water bottle mixed with spiritual spring water.
Zhou Jinchuan took it and took a sip, only to feel the fatigue all over his body disappear instantly.
Although a flicker of surprise flashed in his heart, he didn’t think much of it.
They spent most of the afternoon shopping in Xishi, and when they returned to the army, it was already evening.
Plus, most of the people had gone home for the holidays, and there weren’t many people left in the army.
When they went back, they didn’t even meet anyone along the way.
Su Yi was secretly relieved, but as soon as the car drove to the gate of the courtyard, before she could organize her things and get out of the car, she heard Auntie Yao greeting Zhou Jinchuan.
“Commander Zhou, you’re back? By the way, yesterday Little Sister Su called you at this time, but you weren’t home—“
Su Yi heard this and quickly got out of the car, waving to Auntie Yao.
Auntie Yao was stunned for a moment, then quickly changed her words and laughed, “So you two came back together?”
Su Yi quickly nodded and smiled, wishing Auntie Yao a Happy New Year.
Then she hurried back to the courtyard with her things.
The rest of the things were left to Zhou Jinchuan.
She was really embarrassed to go out again.
After Zhou Jinchuan moved the things back, he couldn’t help but tease her when he saw her, “What are you hiding for? They’ll know sooner or later.”
“By the way, you called me yesterday evening?”
Su Yi nodded, “Yeah, I called you after I left home yesterday. No one answered at home, so I called Auntie Yao. She said you had been out for a few days, and I thought you might not have left yet, so I went to the guest house to look for you.”
Zhou Jinchuan smiled with a slight grin, “So you went to find me on purpose.”
Then the confession yesterday shouldn’t have been a spur of the moment.
Su Yi didn’t know what he was smiling foolishly about, anyway, the corners of his mouth hadn’t stopped curving up today.
“Commander Zhou, I’ll go make dinner, you clean up the house.”
“Why are you calling me that again?”
“I can’t help but call you that when I’m back in the army. I’m used to it, so I’ll keep calling you that for now.”
“……”
After finishing her sentence, Su Yi quickly picked up the meat and vegetables she had bought and went into the kitchen.
They hadn’t been able to eat dumplings on New Year’s Eve yesterday, so they had agreed on the way back that they would make dumplings tonight.
Besides dumplings, they also planned to braise a pot of beef shank they had just bought.
Su Yi first soaked the beef shank in water, added her own blend of spices, and started to braise it.
Then she started to knead the dough and roll out the dumpling wrappers.
She had been adding a bit of spiritual spring water to Zhou Jinchuan’s water these past two days, and seeing that he hadn’t noticed anything, she felt relieved and added a few drops to the dough as well, so that the two children could also get some extra nourishment.
As she was kneading the dough, she suddenly felt a gentle embrace from behind. A masculine scent instantly enveloped her.
She didn’t need to guess who it was.
Su Yi’s body instinctively stiffened, and she pushed back awkwardly, “Don’t mess around, my hands are all covered in dough, I’ll get you all messy.”
Zhou Jinchuan chuckled and whispered two words in her ear, “It’s alright.”
They had been out all day and hadn’t found a chance to be alone.
Actually, he had been eager to find her as soon as they got back.
But seeing her embarrassment, he had been holding back.
Su Yi’s heart was pounding like a drum. Her voice softened a little as she spoke, “Are you done with your work?”
Zhou Jinchuan hummed, “Almost, taking a break in the middle.”
“Aren’t you afraid the kids will see?”
“They already guessed, I just formally told them.”
“……”
Su Yi saw that he hadn’t let go after hugging her for a while, and if this went on, they wouldn’t be able to make the dumplings even if it got dark.
So she took the initiative to ask him to help her chop the meat filling.
Of course, Zhou Jinchuan immediately agreed. The kitchen instantly transitioned from the endless ambiguous atmosphere to the clatter and bang of a lively scene.
Su Yi rolled out the dumpling wrappers while occasionally checking on his chopping.
This was the first time she had seen Zhou Jinchuan wearing an apron, and she couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.
After the dumplings were cooked, the two children who had finished their chores also washed their hands and sat at the table waiting.
As soon as Su Yi sat down, Ye Xiaowu was the first to ask, “Sister Su, should we start calling you ‘Auntie’ from now on?”
Su Yi’s face was already a little red from the hot water.
Hearing Xiaowu say this, her face immediately turned even redder.
She couldn’t help but glare at Zhou Jinchuan, then smiled at the two children, “You can call me whatever you want, just whatever feels comfortable.”
“Got it, Auntie.”
“……”
After they finished eating, it was already dark.
Before Su Yi could even offer to go back, Zhou Jinchuan had already gone to lock the front door.
“It’s too late today, and it’s too late to light a fire and clean up the dormitory, so why don’t you just sleep here tonight?”
“You and Nuannuan sleep in my room, I’ll go sleep with Xiaowu.”
Su Yi could see from the courtyard that the dormitory building was pitch black.
Everyone else hadn’t come back yet.
If she were to go back alone, she would be a little scared.
So she agreed.
After a day of shopping and driving, Xiaowu and Nuannuan had gone to bed early.
Su Yi had just finished washing up and changed into a clean set of clothes when she saw Zhou Jinchuan standing at the door of the study, beckoning her over.
After a moment’s hesitation, she still found herself walking towards him.
“Why aren’t you sleeping yet? Aren’t you tired?”
Zhou Jinchuan smiled faintly and said, “Not sleepy.”
Then, for the first time, he solemnly took her hand, pulled her into the room, and closed the door directly.
Su Yi instinctively tightened her knitted cardigan.
She appeared calm on the surface, but her heart was already screaming in terror.
[Ahhhhhhhh!]
Zhou Jinchuan saw that her palms were slightly sweating from nervousness, and even her inner voice was incomplete.
He smiled and pulled her to the chair, letting her sit down.
“Are you nervous?”
Su Yi coughed lightly, “Not really.”
Zhou Jinchuan chuckled softly, “Actually, I’m a little nervous too. I haven’t dated anyone before, at least you’ve been engaged before, logically you should be better than me, why are you even more nervous than me?”
Su Yi blinked.
[Is Zhou Jinchuan going to start getting jealous and settling old scores?]
Zhou Jinchuan quickly explained, “I didn’t mean it that way, I just, I just said it casually. Your past with him is long gone, and I won’t pry into the details of your past relationship.”
Su Yi saw that although he said he didn’t care, the sourness was already floating all over the room.
She couldn’t help but chuckle softly, “Although Qin Yunfeng and I grew up together, he left home before I became an adult and never came back. So, me and him – we don’t have anything like what you imagine, you don’t need to be jealous of him.”
Seeing her explaining seriously, Zhou Jinchuan couldn’t help but hold her hand in his own, gently squeezing it twice.
The corners of his mouth rose quickly, “Okay, I got it.”