Chapter 16 Is there any reward?

The house was quiet—so quiet that even the sound of fabric rustling seemed amplified.

Gu Xiao quickly backed away from the door and tried to redirect his attention. As he looked around, he noticed that the place had changed quite a bit.

Since he only stayed here occasionally, the apartment was usually dusty and sparsely furnished. But now, it was clean and tidy, filled with new items that clearly belonged to her.

A small bouquet of wildflowers sat on the dining table, lightly scenting the air and filling the home with a cozy and warm atmosphere—a sense of peaceful domesticity that made anyone inside feel at ease.

Gu Xiao’s lips curled slightly. He clearly liked this change.

Now he fully understood why those married guys back at the military camp were always longing to go home to their wives.

With a wife like this, not only would he want to come home, he’d even be willing to become some foolish, spoiled king if it meant staying with her.

—

Inside the room, Song Youyou had hurriedly finished getting dressed, but she didn’t dare come out.

Because… this was just way too embarrassing.

She was sure Gu Xiao had guessed that she’d run back to her room naked.

She groaned silently, burying her head in her blanket in shame while lightly banging it against her forehead.

After struggling with her emotions for a long while, she finally gathered the courage to quietly open the door a crack to peek outside.

She stuck her head out and looked left… then right.

There was no one.

She blinked, surprised. Did Gu Xiao leave?

She slowly opened the door wider and tiptoed out.

From the balcony, there was a soft rustling sound.

She walked toward it and, bathed in the light of the setting sun, saw him bent over, working.

The man was tall and strong, his sleeves and pants rolled up to reveal firm muscles on his arms and calves.

He had already emptied the two sacks of soil into the metal planters and was now standing in a stable horse stance, carefully leveling out the uneven dirt with his hands.

It was just a simple, rugged chore—but watching him do it was strangely captivating, like a mighty god humbling himself to perform manual labor.

Her heart instantly started pounding in her chest.

She quickly rubbed her chest, trying to calm down, before walking over and softly asking, “Why are you handling the soil?”

He looked up just as a bead of sweat slid down his throat and disappeared into the collar of his shirt.

“Had energy to burn. Saw something that needed doing, so I did it,” he replied. His voice, roughened from physical exertion, was even deeper and more magnetic than usual.

Song Youyou unconsciously licked her lips. She suddenly felt thirsty—dry-mouthed and scatterbrained.

“Youyou?”

“Mm? What?”
What had he just said?

“I asked how to plant these seeds.”

Seeing her stare at him, blushing in a daze, Gu Xiao subtly raised an eyebrow.

She liked seeing him like this?

To test his theory, he lifted his shirt slightly and fanned himself. “So hot…”

As expected, the moment she saw the defined lines of his abs, her face flushed an even deeper red and she quickly averted her eyes.

Gu Xiao smirked to himself.

So… she liked looking at his waist and abs?
Noted. He was very pleased with this discovery.

Just as he was about to tease her more, she handed him two packets of seeds. “Let’s plant these two first.”

He had no choice but to pause and accept them. “What kind of seeds are these?”

“Baby bok choy and Chinese chives. They’re easy to care for, shallow-rooted, and good for balcony growing.”

Now that they were back on a serious topic, Song Youyou finally felt her face cooling down.

“Bok choy grows quickly—it’s ready to harvest in about three weeks. If we stagger the planting into two batches, one will be ready every ten or so days.

“Chives take longer to grow at first, but once established, they can be cut and regrow every week.

“By alternating the planting of these two, we can harvest up to six batches of vegetables in a month. Each batch can last us three days, so that’s enough greens for over half a month.”

As she excitedly laid out her gardening plan, Gu Xiao listened silently and thought to himself: My wife really knows how to manage a household.

He kept working while listening to her soft, sweet voice, and soon, the seeds were planted.

“Anything else?” Gu Xiao looked up at her and asked.

“Yes. There’s also green onions, garlic sprouts, and a few chili peppers—just for seasoning, so only a little needs to be planted, off to the side.”

“Alright.”

After planting the seeds, Gu Xiao covered them with soil. Meanwhile, Song Youyou fetched water from the large vat in the kitchen and carefully watered the planters.

She had added a single drop of her spiritual spring water to the vat, though she wasn’t sure if it would have any effect on the vegetables.

“I need to head back to the base,” Gu Xiao said after he finished and washed the dirt off his hands.

Song Youyou paused her watering and turned around. “So soon? Can’t you stay for dinner?”

“No time. I already had a meal with some old friends this afternoon.”

“Oh…” she murmured, a little disappointed.

Gu Xiao took a step forward, his intense gaze falling on her.

Her hair wasn’t neatly braided as usual but loosely tied, which made her look even softer and more delicate.

The restlessness that he had just worked out of his system flared back up again.

“Dinner’s not important. We need to talk about something else.”

“Hmm?” Song Youyou stopped what she was doing and looked up seriously. “What is it?”

“Payment. I worked so hard—don’t you think I deserve something in return?” he asked, leaning in slightly to close the distance between them.

“W-what kind of payment?” she stammered, her breath catching under his increasingly heated gaze.

“The kind like last time, here… when I pinned you down and kissed you.”

Boom—her heart exploded in her chest, beating wildly, refusing to calm down.

“You’re not answering… So, do I get a reward?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke, voice even lower and huskier.

“That kiss last time—I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Couldn’t sleep last night just from remembering it.

“Have you… been thinking about it too?”

They were getting closer. His voice was getting rougher.

Song Youyou’s heart raced even more. Her body tingled from his straightforward words.

“I…” She didn’t know how to answer.

Gu Xiao took her silence as permission. He gently grabbed her hand and led her inside.

“This time… should we kiss sitting down?”

Though it was phrased like a question, he pulled her straight onto his lap.

She could feel his solid, muscular thigh under her, and her entire face turned red, the blush spreading all the way to her ears and neck.

Seeing her so soft and rosy, Gu Xiao’s throat bobbed again. He tugged her body downward slightly, tilted his head back, and brought his lips up to meet hers in a kiss.