Chapter 44: What to Do? I Really Want to Kiss

Su Wenbin was taken aback. “Judging by your tone, did I somehow offend you? Old Gu, what exactly happened? If you’re going to put me on the spot, at least let me die with some clarity, won’t you?”

“Old Su, we’ve been comrades for years—I don’t want to suspect you. But yesterday, you saw me come out of the Organization Department, you asked me where my wife planned to work, and I told you. Then today, your sister suddenly got a job at the Broadcasting Station. Commander Su, don’t tell me you had no idea about this.”

Gu Weicheng’s voice was cold and stern.

It wasn’t a big deal if someone provoked him—but if they provoked his wife, that was a different matter entirely.

“What? Wenyen got a job at the Broadcasting Station?” Su Wenbin looked genuinely shocked. He quickly explained, “Old Gu, I really didn’t know about this. Wenyen never mentioned it to me. If I had known, I would never have let her take it.”

“You don’t actually think I deliberately got Wenyen into the Broadcasting Station to steal your wife’s job, do you? Old Gu, what kind of person do you take me for? There’s no conflict between me and your wife, and even if there were, I wouldn’t stoop to such disgraceful tactics.” 

Gu Weicheng halted his steps, turned to look at Su Wenbin, and said each word clearly: 

“I trust your character; otherwise, I wouldn’t have told you yesterday that my wife was applying for the broadcasting station. But as for your sister, you really ought to discipline her properly.” 

“Alright, alright, I’ll talk to her and get to the bottom of this. I’ll have her resign from the broadcasting station and give the job to your wife—will that do?” Su Wenbin said. 

Gu Weicheng rejected him outright: “No need. My wife has already found a new job.”

Although he would have preferred for Li Xia to work at the broadcasting station, there was no need for Su Wenyen to ‘give up’ the job for her. 

His wife’s writing was outstanding—like gold, it would shine sooner or later. 

If the broadcasting station didn’t want her today, they would regret it when she secured an even better position in the future. 

In Gu Weicheng’s view, having Li Xia work at the broadcasting station was already a waste of her talent. She should be working in the publicity department of their army base, writing reports for the military district leadership—that would be a proper use of her skills. 

However, the army’s publicity department did not recruit externally; they only selected personnel from military academies. Even if he wanted Li Xia to join, there was nothing he could do about it for now. 

… 

Today, they were slaughtering a chicken at home. 

Li Xia had finally had enough of all the chicken droppings in the courtyard. She had originally planned to wait a couple more days before butchering it for a meal, but this particular chicken had made such a mess that she decided to move up the schedule.

Gu Weicheng held the cleaver and made two swift cuts across the chicken’s neck. Blood immediately began to flow. 

Li Xia didn’t dare watch. She hid in the kitchen, boiling water in preparation—she would need to scald the chicken with hot water before plucking its feathers. 

She had bought some matsutake mushrooms from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, each about the size of a coin. These small, tender mushrooms would be incredibly fragrant once cooked. 

Li Xia wanted to help with plucking the feathers, but Gu Weicheng stopped her. “Chicken feathers are hard to pull, and they stink. I’ll take care of it. You just sit and watch. Oh, and I brought back two cans of preserved fruit—I already opened one and put it on the table. You and An An can have some.” 

The chicken feathers were indeed quite smelly, still stuck with bits of droppings. 

After a brief hesitation, Li Xia chose between helping her husband pluck the feathers and eating canned fruit—and went with the latter. 

Gu Weicheng opened a can of yellow peaches, releasing a thick, sweet fragrance. Li Xia picked up a piece with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth. It was wonderfully sweet, bursting with rich peach flavor.

Back in the day, canned food wasn’t anything special, but now it was a rare treat. 

Even at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative in town, it was often sold out. Without connections there, getting your hands on something this good was nearly impossible. 

Li Xia carried the can outside and fed a piece to An An. 

Children loved canned fruit, and An An eagerly ate two pieces in a row. 

Li Xia then turned to Gu Weicheng and offered him a bite. Holding a piece of peach with the chopsticks, she brought it to his lips. “You should try it too.” 

Gu Weicheng glanced toward the house next door. Seeing that Sister-in-law Tao wasn’t in the courtyard, he finally opened his mouth and took the peach. 

He was wary of being seen by Sister-in-law Tao—ever since she caught wind of him getting pulled onto the bed last time, she hadn’t stopped teasing him about it. 

“How is it? Tasty? Sweet?” Li Xia asked.

“Sweet,” Gu Weicheng replied. Just like Li Xia. 

His lower lip was slightly fuller than his upper lip, resembling the kind of shape many people would later seek out for cosmetic enhancements. Li Xia had always thought his mouth was incredibly attractive, but now, with a sheen of syrup on his lips, it looked even more enticing, as if he had applied lip gloss. 

What should she do? She really wanted to kiss him. 

The thought bloomed and surged in her mind. If An An weren’t there, she might have already leaned in and stolen a kiss. 

“I’ll wipe it off for you,” Li Xia said, reaching out to gently dab away the syrup at the corner of Gu Weicheng’s lips. 

Her fingertips were slightly cool as they brushed against his warm, soft lips. Both of them flinched slightly at the touch.

Gu Weicheng’s gaze darkened, his eyes deep and intense as he stared at Li Xia’s fingers. When she had touched his lips just now, a tremor had run through his body. 

He had just eaten a juicy peach, yet his mouth felt dry, his throat parched—as if a fire had ignited inside him, desperately craving relief. 

Li Xia’s fingers were cool against his lips, and the sensation was… incredibly pleasant. 

He wanted more. 

But it was broad daylight, and they were still in the courtyard. 

Gu Weicheng warned himself to stay in control, to stop letting his thoughts wander. But the moment he saw Li Xia bring her sugar-coated fingertip to her own lips, tasting the syrup that had just touched his mouth— 

His self-restraint crumbled completely. 

In that instant, he lost the battle entirely.

She had just licked the fingertip that wiped his lips? 

Did that mean… they had indirectly kissed? 

His wife was sweeter than the canned peaches, even more tempting. 

“Wife…” Gu Weicheng spoke, his voice lower and huskier than usual, rich with magnetism. 

Li Xia suddenly realized what she had just done. 

Had she wanted to kiss Gu Weicheng’s lips too much but felt too embarrassed to do it directly—so instead, she had instinctively licked the finger that had touched them? 

That… that had to be it, right?

But it wasn’t a big deal, right? She hadn’t done anything too excessive. 

So why was Gu Weicheng looking at her with that deep, almost resentful gaze? 

Feeling a little guilty, Li Xia stood up and said, “My fingers are sticky, I’ll go wash my hands.” 

At that moment, Su Wenbin arrived with Su Wenyen in tow. “Old Gu, I’ve brought Wenyen to apologize to you and your wife.”