Chapter 113.1

Zhao Wuzhu followed Gu Qinghan into the house, immediately beginning to assess the space.

The house wasn’t large—a small two-bedroom apartment with a living room. It had a courtyard, but the space was still smaller than their family compound back home. However, the house was much warmer and much tidier and cleaner than the guesthouse they had stayed in.

In the small living room, there was a radio, which looked very new and was currently on, broadcasting the central news.

It was nothing like the guesthouse, where even with a stove burning, it still didn’t warm up, and the cold lingered throughout the night.

That Gu Qinglan girl wasn’t dependable either. Last night, after leaving her in that guesthouse, she had said she needed to go back to help with some surgery.

Could any job be more important than a mother?

Fortunately, Gu Qinghan arrived just in time, or she would have certainly frozen to death in that tiny guesthouse.

Zhao Wuzhu withdrew her gaze and then noticed the tightly closed door to one of the rooms. She looked toward Aunt Chen and asked, “Comrade Chen, where are our Lele and the two kids? Haven’t they woken up yet? Why don’t I see them?”

Actually, she wanted to ask where Wen Nuan was. Could she still be asleep?

Thinking of Wen Nuan’s lazy habits back home, Zhao Wuzhu couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Could it be that even after all this time in the North, she still hadn’t changed?

Aunt Chen handed Zhao Wuzhu a cup of hot tea and smiled. “The kids won’t wake up so quickly. Since the weather is cold, there’s really nothing for them to do. Let them sleep a little longer.”

After a moment, Aunt Chen added, “Xiao Nuan stayed up with the kids all night, so let her rest a bit longer. You can sit down, drink some tea, and warm up.”

Bao Bao and Zhou Zhou always slept with Wen Nuan at night, and Lele, too, was always with her. From childhood, she had rarely ever been apart from Wen Nuan, so she was also sticking to her mother for bedtime.

Although the kids’ routines had become more regular, the two younger brothers were still a bit small for their age, so they would cry a few times at night, looking for milk. As a result, Wen Nuan often had to wake up once or twice during the night.

Aunt Chen rarely called Wen Nuan to get up in the mornings. She waited for her to wake up naturally, then helped wash the kids’ faces.

When Zhao Wuzhu heard this, her face looked a little displeased, but she knew it was likely Gu Qinghan’s indulgence that had led to this. She smiled and changed the topic.

Zhao Wuzhu took a sip of tea, then curiously asked, “Are my two grandsons sturdy? Do they look like their father or their mother?”

It was rare for the old Gu family to have grandsons. When Gu Qinghan said he was bringing her to the family compound, she had gotten up early and waited in the guesthouse.

Now that they had finally arrived at the family compound, she still hadn’t even seen the children, which left her feeling itchy and quite displeased.

Gu Qinghan had just finished helping Zhao Wuzhu with her luggage when she heard Zhao Wuzhu ask a question. She replied, “It’s hard to tell who they resemble. Mom, go ahead and have breakfast first. When the kids wake up later, you’ll be able to see them.”

Zhao Wuzhu didn’t insist, and when she saw Gu Qinghan bringing out the steamed buns and porridge, she felt too hungry to wait, so she decided to have breakfast.

Gu Qinghan then went back to her room. Zhao Wuzhu tried to peek inside but was blocked by her son.

Wen Nuan, hearing the man enter the room, immediately closed her eyes and pretended to still be asleep.

After a while, she felt Gu Qinghan walk toward the kang bed and then gently kiss her forehead. He lowered his voice intentionally and said, “My mom is here, but it’s still early. You can sleep a little longer until the kids wake up.”

Wen Nuan couldn’t keep up the act any longer. She opened her eyes and smiled, “Aren’t you afraid that your mom will say I’m lazy again?”

In the past, there had been no shortage of rumors about her being “lazy and fond of food” in the family compound. Gu Qinghan must have heard them. While the gossip outside hadn’t reached her ears much, Zhao Wuzhu had surely said such things in front of him.

Gu Qinghan smiled and curled his lips. “Let her say what she wants. I don’t only have ears, I have eyes too.”

He then sat down on the edge of the kang, adjusted the quilt for Wen Nuan, and continued, “Besides, you really need rest right now. Don’t worry about what my mom says. Just let things be. When I’m home, you don’t need to do anything. Let my mom see your position in the family.”

Gu Qinghan felt sorry for Wen Nuan, who had to get up at night to feed the babies, especially since it was twins. Now that they were three months old, their routine was a bit more predictable.

However, during the confinement period, the babies often cried—crying when their diapers were wet, crying when they were hungry. Wen Nuan’s sleep had been even worse because of it.

And now, with it being deep winter, he hoped Wen Nuan would be “lazy” for a while.

As for his mother, Gu Qinghan didn’t care at all about what she said. If Wen Nuan had given birth to twins and was still expected to do housework, then it would be better for her to go back sooner.

It would also give him a chance to check up on that boy, Gu Qingsong, and see what kind of nonsense he was up to!

After hearing Gu Qinghan’s words, Wen Nuan smiled and nodded. “I know, I didn’t want to get up anyway. I was so tired last night!”

Thinking about last night, Wen Nuan’s face slowly heated up. God knew how wild Gu Qinghan had been. Her waist was even reddened from his grip!

Gu Qinghan looked at Wen Nuan’s playful expression mixed with a hint of reproach. Unable to resist, he leaned down and kissed her lips, which were still bright red.

It wasn’t until Zhao Wuzhu and Aunt Chen’s conversation could be heard from outside that Wen Nuan, dissatisfied, pushed him away. “Go back to work, didn’t you say there was a meeting?”

After speaking, Wen Nuan quickly adjusted her collar, which had been pulled open by the man, and pulled the quilt up to her chin, to prevent him from getting too wild again.

Gu Qinghan cleared his throat and muttered an “mm” sound, then said, “Go back to sleep. Wait until the kids wake up, and then you can go out.”

After saying that, he gently pushed aside Wen Nuan’s bangs and kissed her smooth forehead.

Wen Nuan, disapproving, pushed her bangs back and gave him a look. “Go on! Stop dragging things out!”

“Mm.” Gu Qinghan squeezed her fair hand one last time, reluctant to leave. “Alright, then. You keep sleeping for a bit longer.”

Wen Nuan watched his back as he left the room, then turned over and pulled Lele into her arms, planting a kiss on her round little face.

As Gu Qinghan stepped out of the room, Zhao Wuzhu curiously glanced at him and asked, “The kids still haven’t woken up?”

Zhao Wuzhu had heard some noises coming from the room. She wondered if Wen Nuan was still lying in bed and unwilling to wake up.

Gu Qinghan responded, “The kids are still asleep. They usually don’t wake up so quickly. Mom, if you didn’t sleep well last night, you can go rest in the small room’s kang for a while. It’s warmer over there.”

The night before, Gu Qinghan had discussed with Aunt Chen. Aunt Chen was worried that his mother, having just arrived in the North, might not be used to the cold climate, so she suggested that his mom sleep in the small room with her.

People in the North were used to this—several people sleeping on one large platform bed. The North’s cold winters made it unsuitable for elderly people to sleep on wooden beds.

So, for now, they had to make do.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuzhu frowned and sarcastically said, “I don’t have such habits. Once I wake up, I get up. Lying in bed makes a person lazy.”

Aunt Chen, hearing this, smiled and said, “Oh, dear mother-in-law, you don’t know. The climate here in the North is very different from the South. When the snow piles up in the mountains, people get used to hibernating here. Anyway, I have nowhere else to go.”

Zhao Wuzhu thought for a moment. She had indeed noticed that when she had arrived from the guest house, apart from some soldiers on patrol, she hadn’t seen many family members around.

Gu Qinghan, putting on his coat, said to Zhao Wuzhu, “If you’re not going to sleep, you can stay in the living room and listen to the news broadcast. Just don’t wake up the kids or Wen Nuan.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuzhu became even more irritated.

But when she saw Aunt Chen standing by, she didn’t dare to act out, only asking with a sour expression, “Oldest son, are you leaving?”

“Yes, there are many tasks in the military these past few months.”

After saying that, Gu Qinghan turned to Aunt Chen and said, “Aunt Chen, please look after my mom. If she wants to go out and walk around, take her with you. I’m heading out.”

Zhao Wuzhu sighed as she followed Gu Qinghan out the door, saying, “I’m already this old, I don’t need anyone to look after me. And it’s so cold outside, what’s there to go see? I’ll stay at home and help take care of the kids. You go ahead and get your work done.”

Zhao Wuzhu hadn’t expected the military base to be so desolate—it was almost like a big rural area.

Although their hometown wasn’t a provincial capital, it was still an urban area. Around their family compound, there were the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and the State-Owned Restaurant—everything one might need.

But at this military base in the North, there weren’t even many bicycles to be seen.

Watching Gu Qinghan leave, Zhao Wuzhu had nothing to do, so she sat down with Aunt Chen by the coffee table in the living room and started chatting about the people from the family compound.

She also asked about the rules of the military, worried about making any mistakes or saying the wrong thing and causing trouble for Gu Qinghan.

Time passed, and by ten o’clock, after waiting all morning, Zhao Wuzhu finally heard some movement from the room.