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“I didn’t know you were coming earlier, so I didn’t apply for family housing in advance. I’ll go back and submit the application right away.
The apartment-style family housing in the military family compound is still under construction and isn’t finished yet. For now, we can only apply for a single-story house. If you prefer an apartment, I can apply for an exchange once the buildings are completed.”
Gu Weicheng regretted not submitting the application directly when he was in the Commander’s office just now.
“No need to switch. I think a single-story house is better. It even comes with a small courtyard, which is much nicer than living in an apartment. We can grow vegetables in the yard for self-sufficiency. When we have some free time, we can sit outside and enjoy the breeze. An An can also play in the yard—kids his age can’t be kept cooped up inside.” Li Xia shared her thoughts.
The most important thing was that apartment buildings at this time didn’t have elevators. If they lived on a higher floor, going up and down the stairs every day would be exhausting. She was absolutely against living in an apartment!
“Alright, I’ll go submit the application right away.” Seeing how Li Xia was already planning out their vegetable garden, Gu Weicheng couldn’t help but smile.
It seemed like she truly intended to stay here long-term this time.
The feeling was rather strange. He used to have high hopes for this marriage, hoping Li Xia would come and live with him. But back then, she refused no matter what.
Just a few days ago, when he had finally decided to give up on this marriage, Li Xia unexpectedly came to join him—and she even brought their child. It felt like finding light at the end of a dark tunnel, an unexpected turn of fate.
Speaking of which, Gu Weicheng and Li Xia had already been married for five years.
Five years—almost two thousand days. It sounded like a long time, the kind of duration that made people feel like an old married couple. But in reality, they had only spent a single day together.
For Li Xia, this was actually a good thing. Since Gu Weicheng didn’t know the original host well, she could be herself in front of him without maintaining the previous persona. Otherwise, she was afraid she might accidentally expose herself.
This was An An’s first time meeting his father. Although he didn’t call out to him, he kept secretly observing him.
Suddenly, he pointed at Gu Weicheng’s uniform and said, “A button is missing.”
An An had always been very observant and was a meticulous child. While Li Xia and Gu Weicheng were talking, he quietly examined this father he had never met before.
Gu Weicheng lowered his head and looked. Sure enough, the third button on his chest was missing. He had already noticed it himself, but he had been out on a mission the past few days.
The missing button was in his pocket, but he hadn’t had the time to sew it back on.
Li Xia hadn’t noticed it earlier, but after An An pointed it out, she realized that Gu Weicheng’s military uniform was missing a button.
When he moved slightly, from her angle, she could see his strong and well-built chest…
Feeling a bit uneasy, Li Xia quickly averted her gaze.
“Mommy can sew buttons. All of An An’s buttons were sewn by Mommy,” An An said, looking at Li Xia.
Although he hadn’t called Gu Weicheng ‘Daddy’ yet, seeing his father’s uniform in disrepair made him feel a bit distressed.
Gu Weicheng looked at Li Xia, unsure if she would be willing to sew the button for him.
Li Xia glanced at An An, cleared her throat, and said, “Why don’t you take off your uniform? I’ll sew it for you.”
She could sew buttons—sewing buttons was hardly the only thing she could do.
Although she came from the 21st century, a time when food, clothing, and shelter were all incredibly convenient, there was one inconvenience—there weren’t many tailor shops around where she lived.
So whenever a button fell off or something got torn, she had to mend it herself.
At first, her sewing was messy, but later, she took the time to learn various sewing techniques online and mastered them completely. She could even embroider neat little patterns with colorful threads.
Since Li Xia had spoken, Gu Weicheng took off his uniform and handed it to her.
It was summer, and the soldiers’ uniforms were short-sleeved. When Gu Weicheng took off his shirt, his upper body was left bare.
He had the kind of physique that looked lean in clothes but revealed well-defined muscles when uncovered. When dressed in his uniform, Li Xia only noticed his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs. With his serious expression, he exuded the restrained composure of an old-school officer.
But once the uniform was off, his bronze-toned, muscular chest and sculpted abs were on full display. There was nothing restrained about him anymore—he was pure masculinity incarnate.
Even the most renowned male actors in the entertainment industry, often dubbed ‘walking hormones,’ paled in comparison to Gu Weicheng.
Li Xia instinctively averted her gaze, worried that if she stared too long, she might get distracted and mess up her stitching.
Sewing a button was simple. In just a couple of minutes, she had it sewn on firmly and neatly.
Noticing that the pocket also had a small tear, she quickly stitched that up as well. Her sewing technique was so precise that the stitches were nearly invisible, leaving no trace of mending.
Gu Weicheng took the uniform and sincerely praised, “Your needlework is amazing.”
Unlike him—his sewing looked like it had been chewed on by a dog.
He had no choice; in the past, whenever his clothes tore, he had to mend them himself.
But now, things were different. From now on, there was someone to sew for him.
“It’s all practice,” Li Xia said modestly.
Gu Weicheng shook his head. “Even with practice, you need skill. I’ve been sewing for years, and my stitching still looks like it was chewed on.”
Li Xia couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t exaggerating—she had noticed other stitching on his uniform, and it truly was an eyesore.
So she generously offered, “When I have time, I’ll take apart your old stitches and redo them properly.”
Gu Weicheng felt a warmth spread in his heart at her words.
By now, it was about time for dinner. Gu Weicheng asked, “Are you eating here or at the cafeteria? If you’re staying here, I can go to the cafeteria and bring the food back so we can eat together.”
“Let’s eat at the cafeteria together. It’d be too much trouble for you to run back and forth,” Li Xia replied, then turned to An An. “What do you think, An An?”
An An nodded enthusiastically. “I want to go out too!”
They hadn’t gone outside much during the day, and now he wanted to stretch his legs and get some fresh air. Staying inside the guesthouse all day was getting dull.
The family of three stepped out of the guesthouse. Li Xia’s beauty turned heads wherever they went—not just because of her features but also her radiant complexion. Though her clothing was simple, her delicate face and slender figure made her look vibrant and full of life.
Gu Weicheng, who was usually stoic and expressionless, now appeared visibly relaxed, even in high spirits. He held the hand of a small child who looked about seventy to eighty percent like him, bouncing along cheerfully, clearly in a great mood.
How rare—Commander Gu was actually smiling!
Even more surprising, he had a beautiful woman and an adorable child by his side!
People whispered among themselves. What?
That was Commander Gu’s wife and son?
Hadn’t he been married for five years without ever taking family visit leave? When did he have a child?!