Chapter 34: Abdominal Muscles (3)

Principal Jiang’s husband was a leader in the military unit and had been stationed with the army for a long time. He held a high rank, and as a result, their house was much better than most others. It was a detached house, with four rooms and two living rooms, along with a front and back yard.

Principal Jiang was a person with great taste and romance. She had set up a flower bed in the front yard and had even built a grapevine trellis.

It was summer, and the flower bed was full of flowers in various colors, swaying in the breeze. The vines on the trellis were winding up, providing a bit of shade on the hot summer day.

When Su Ting arrived, Principal Jiang was sitting under the grapevine trellis, greeting the wife of General Lu.

The wife of General Lu, whose surname was Liu, was a gentle and kind woman. Due to her health issues, she hadn’t been working these past few years and had been living a low-key life. When she saw her friend had a guest, she didn’t linger but smiled at Su Ting and left.

After sending her friend off, Principal Jiang turned and invited Su Ting to sit down. She went inside, fetched a glass, and poured some tea for her. “Do you usually drink tea?” she asked.

“I brew it when the weather is hot, and drink it after it cools.” Su Ting answered honestly.

“Then today’s tea might be a little too hot.” Principal Jiang laughed, sitting down. She then asked: “I heard you went to the city today?”

Su Ting briefly explained: “I went to pick up a package sent by a friend.”

Principal Jiang pondered for a moment. “Did Comrade Yu tell you that I wanted to speak with you?”

“She did. That’s why I’m here.” Su Ting replied.

“Aren’t you going to ask what the matter is?”

At this, Su Ting smiled. “I was waiting for you to bring it up first.”

Principal Jiang laughed heartily and tapped Su Ting with her finger. “I’m really curious. With Battalion Commander He’s reserved personality, how did he manage to marry you?”

Su Ting thought to herself that he wasn’t reserved at all—he was clearly a quiet flirt. Out loud, she responded: “He was left with no choice.”

“There’s a story?” Principal Jiang asked.

“There is, but I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

Su Ting gave a slight smile, pressing her lips together. “I’m afraid it might affect the image I have in your mind.”

Principal Jiang laughed again. Then, her tone suddenly shifted. “I have a son, he’s twenty now.”

Su Ting hesitated. “What do you mean by that?”

“I think he’d be a good match for you.”

Su Ting felt a bit embarrassed. “Isn’t it a bit too obvious for you to be trying to pair me up with your son, especially when it’s with someone like He Dongchuan?”

“He’s not around.” Principal Jiang replied with a smile. “My son’s height is about the same as Battalion Commander He’s, and he’s not bad looking either. Are you sure you’re not considering it?”

Su Ting couldn’t help but laugh a little: “Well… I could consider it, but you’d have to let him wait in line until after my divorce.”

Principal Jiang immediately bent over with laughter. “Alright, I’ll call him sometime and tell him to wait a few more years.”

Su Ting could no longer hold back and sighed helplessly. “Principal Jiang!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing you.” Principal Jiang said, easing up on Su Ting. Then, she got to the real topic. “The reason I called you here today is to ask if you’d be interested in becoming a teacher.”

Su Ting widened her eyes, realizing that it really was about this… She hesitated, then asked: “How did you think of asking me to be a teacher?”

“Your education is sufficient, you speak coherently, and you have the courage. It’s not surprising that I thought of you, right?”

“On paper, yes, my education qualifies, but in reality, I only completed one year of middle school, and my grades were not good back then.”

Principal Jiang paused in surprise. She had checked Su Ting’s records at the Military Family Resettlement Office, but the forms were standard, and no one would specifically write about how many years of school someone had completed or how their grades were. Even after checking, some people who clearly had poor grades would still confidently tell her they could teach, but Su Ting was the first person to honestly admit that she hadn’t done well in school.

Before finding Su Ting, Principal Jiang had already met with three other military wives. In the end, they all struggled with the written exams.

After a brief moment of silence, Principal Jiang asked: “Do you think you can’t teach elementary school?”

Su Ting, while humble on the outside, still had a bit of pride. If it were for a high school or even a middle school teaching position, she might have doubts about whether she could handle it, but for elementary school, she felt confident.

The issue, however, was that she didn’t want to be a teacher.

Seeing the two teachers from Building 65 was enough to make her hesitant. Teaching at Military Primary School wasn’t an easy job. It was common for a teacher to manage three classes, and sometimes even four. While it was said that teachers didn’t need to be in the office, in reality, they had full schedules every day. Even if they didn’t want to sit in the office, they had no choice but to.

Subject teachers might have it a bit easier. For instance, Teacher Wang, even though she had many classes, each one only met once or twice a week, so her schedule wasn’t too packed, and she didn’t have to grade homework at night.

Principal Jiang was recruiting someone to fill Duan Xiaoying’s vacancy, and it was clearly impossible for her to take on an additional subject. 

Therefore, the position of elementary school teacher was not particularly attractive to Su Ting.

However, she did like Principal Jiang as a person and didn’t want to lie to her, so after some hesitation, she said: “Personally, I’m not interested in becoming a teacher right now.”

Principal Jiang asked in surprise: “Aren’t there many job opportunities on the island?” Her options weren’t many.

“Mm, I’m not planning to work for the time being.” Su Ting nodded, hesitating over whether she should tell Principal Jiang about her comic book work.

Noticing her hesitation, Principal Jiang frowned and asked: “Is this your personal decision? Or is it that Battalion Commander He doesn’t want you to work?”

“…It’s my personal decision.” Su Ting paused for a moment after speaking and then decided to explain her situation. “Actually, I draw little stories in my spare time. I even had one of them accepted for publication, so for the short term, I’m not considering any other jobs.”

Principal Jiang understood and relaxed, her expression softening. “It’s good that you have your own ideas.” She then asked Su Ting what kind of stories she drew and if she had any drafts. She said she might buy them if she had the chance.

Su Ting waved her hand, saying: “I just draw for fun, nothing worth mentioning.” She didn’t want to reveal her pseudonym.

“Alright.” Seeing that Su Ting had made up her mind, Principal Jiang no longer insisted. “If you change your mind, you can come to find me again.”

“Alright.” Su Ting readily agreed, and after finishing her tea, she left Principal Jiang’s house without staying any longer.

……

When Su Ting returned home, He Yan had already been called back by his father and was hunched over, doing his homework at the chair.

Su Ting was puzzled and asked: “Why aren’t you working at the desk?”

He Yan pouted: “I just want to write at the chair!”

“What’s wrong with him?” Su Ting pointed at He Yan and silently asked He Dongchuan.

“He’s sulking. I called him back just when he was having fun, just ignore him.” He Dongchuan said, then asked: “What did Principal Jiang want?”

“She asked if I was willing to become a teacher.”

Although He Yan put on an aloof attitude, not wanting to speak much to his father, when Mom and Dad were talking, he was all ears. Hearing this, he quickly interrupted, asking: “Mom, are you going to be a teacher? Will you teach us?”

“I didn’t agree.”

He Yan’s face immediately fell. “Why not?”

“Tutoring you guys is enough to make me angry. If I have to teach dozens of kids at once, I’ll be graying prematurely from the stress!”

“What’s ‘early gray hair’?”

“White hair at a young age.”

He Yan tilted his head and carefully examined Su Ting’s head. “But Mom, you don’t have any white hair. It’s all black.”

“That’s because it’s been a short time, and right now you’re the only student I have. Your dad and I share the workload, but being a teacher would be different. If I had dozens of students to teach all by myself, do you think I could keep my hair?”

“Then can I be good in the future?”

Su Ting gave He Yan a sideways glance. “Do you really want me to become a teacher that much? Why?”

“Then we can go to and from school together!” He Yan looked at Su Ting with hopeful eyes, hoping she would change her mind.

Su Ting pretended to think. “Actually, becoming a teacher isn’t out of the question. Then I’ll tell the principal, let me teach your class. You’ll be in my sight during class, and when school’s over, you’ll still be under my watch. If you haven’t done your homework, I’ll know right away. If you fail your exams, I’ll make an example out of you. If you’re not paying attention in class, I’ll slap your hand…”

Su Ting’s willingness to compromise initially made He Yan happy, but after hearing her description, he suddenly thought, if Mom really became a teacher, would he ever have a peaceful life again?

He Yan swallowed nervously and interrupted Su Ting, calling: “Mom.”

“Hmm?”

“No matter if you become a teacher or not, I’ll support you.” Of course, he’d be even happier if she stuck to her original decision.

Su Ting pretended not to notice his intentions and smiled: “I’m really glad you think this way.”

He Yan: “… ?!!”

So? Whether you want to be a teacher or not, can you give me a clear answer?

……

While Su Ting refused to give He Yan a clear answer, she didn’t think of hiding it from He Dongchuan.

That evening, when the couple discussed the matter, Su Ting applied some snowflake cream and said: “I mentioned to Principal Jiang about my comic book work and told her I don’t want to find a job for now. Principal Jiang didn’t say much. She said I could come back to her if I changed my mind.”

But Su Ting felt that the chances of her changing her mind were slim. After all, her start had been good, and she was already rushing out the new story. Since it was a long one, to ensure future updates, she wanted to stockpile a bit more before submitting it.

Even if the new story didn’t get accepted, she could submit it to a lower-tier publishing house. With this cycle, it was likely that this year would pass. If she really kept getting rejected, she would give up and go back to work, though by then the military elementary school might not have any vacancies left.

However, this also showed Principal Jiang’s attitude. Su Ting turned her head and said: “I think Principal Jiang really likes me.”

He Dongchuan adjusted his watch as he casually asked: “How did you figure that out?”

“She wants to be my mother-in-law.”

He Dongchuan set down his watch and asked without changing his expression: “Didn’t she come to talk to you about work? How did it turn into this?”

“It was just a casual conversation before we talked about work. She mentioned that her son is already at the age to get married, and she said her son is about the same height as you, not any less handsome, and asked me to think about it.”

He Dongchuan moved from the side of the bed near the wardrobe and shifted toward the vanity, sitting up. He reached out, gently grabbing Su Ting’s hair as he asked: “How did you respond?”

“I told her to have her son get in line first, then—” Su Ting saw He Dongchuan’s deep eyes in the mirror and, licking her lips, quickly corrected herself: “—then I’d consider it in the next life!”

He Dongchuan narrowed his eyes. “The next life…”

Su Ting felt a chill run down her spine. She turned her head, her eyes full of affection as she said: “But don’t worry, darling. You’ll always be my number one! As long as you’re here, others can only hold a number ticket!”

Although Su Ting often privately mocked He Dongchuan for being a bit reserved, cold as ice beneath the bed and burning with passion on top, he was indeed quite conservative in some ways.

For example, when he called Su Ting, he would only say “Xiao Su.” “Comrade Su.” or “my beloved.” even in the most intimate moments in bed. He had never called her “wife.” which was a more fashionable term.

In return, Su Ting always called him “Old He.” “Comrade He.” or “my husband.” occasionally even calling him Dongchuan, which didn’t change whether they were in bed or not.

Husband?

He’d never called her wife, so why should she call him husband?

But this was a special situation. To smoothly get out of it, compromising was necessary. Little Comrade Su had always known how to read the situation.

So, the usually calm Comrade He, upon hearing Su Ting call him “husband.” was no longer calm. He swallowed, strategically lowered his head, licked his lips, and then slowly raised his gaze, his eyes focused on Su Ting’s rosy lips. His voice, now husky, asked: “Do you still want to touch my abs?”

As he spoke, he took Su Ting’s hand and placed it on his abdomen, even through his undershirt.

His body was warm, and when Su Ting’s hand made contact, the heat quickly penetrated the thin fabric, sending warmth straight to her palm. She couldn’t help but lick her lips. “A little.”

“Then take your time.”

He Dongchuan said as he lifted Su Ting, sitting her on his lap, wrapping one arm around her waist while the other slipped beneath the hem of her shirt, continuing the interrupted action from earlier, reciprocating in kind.