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There was no time to start cooking today. As it was already past mealtime, Xiao Zheng took his wife and child to the cafeteria.
An Huan sat down with the child to find a seat while Xiao Zheng went to buy meal tickets and food coupons.
A middle-aged woman passed by An Huan, then stopped a few steps away, turning around to look at her. “You’re Xiao An, right?”
An Huan was confused.
The woman smiled and said, “I’m Ge Hongying. My husband is the Political Commissar here. I attended the banquet when you and Xiao Zheng held your wedding reception in the provincial capital.”
An Huan stood up and smiled, “I’m sorry, Sister-in-law, I didn’t recognize you.”
“No need, no need,” Ge Hongying gestured for her to sit down, then took a few looks at Dongdong. “This must be Xiao Zheng’s son, right? The little guy has inherited his mother’s beauty. He really doesn’t look like his father at all.”
At first, this seemed like a compliment to Dongdong, but Ge Hongying’s expression was a bit strange as she spoke.
An Huan dismissed the awkwardness in her heart, had her son greet the woman, and then said, “Actually, the child’s nose and mouth resemble Xiao Zheng a lot.”
Ge Hongying smiled and nodded, saying, “Alright, you all sit down. I need to go get my food.”
An Huan watched Ge Hongying leave.
Soon, Xiao Zheng returned with the meal boxes.
He got two dishes, a soup, and eight steamed buns—plenty of food.
“If it’s not enough, we can buy more,” Xiao Zheng said.
“Dongdong and I can’t eat much, this should be enough,” An Huan replied, breaking a bun in half and giving half to Dongdong.
“He’s already four, and he can’t finish a whole bun?”
“Dongdong’s appetite has always been small.”
“What about you? Only eating half a bun?”
“Half is enough.”
Xiao Zheng took a bite of his bun, silent.
If this is how everyone eat, he could even support a whole squad.
An Huan slowly tore pieces off the bun and fed them to Dongdong.
Dongdong didn’t tear the bun himself, but he also chewed slowly, savoring it.
The two of them were both very well-mannered.
Xiao Zheng, however, was much more casual. He ate quickly and took large bites.
That wasn’t an issue; his movements were still quick and efficient, not eating sloppily with soup spilling everywhere.
However, An Huan noticed something—he… he was smacking his lips!
The long-buried memories of the original body suddenly surged up.
During that year living together at the military academy in the provincial capital, the original body absolutely despised his habits—smacking his lips while eating, neglecting hygiene, sometimes coming back smelling of alcohol, and throwing his shoes off and collapsing onto the bed…
There were countless such small examples that could fill an entire page.
An Huan, who had sworn to cling to the male lead’s golden thigh, started feeling unsure of herself.
She had grown up in a more developed society, with her family being middle class, and many of the habits of this era were more in line with the original body’s bourgeois lifestyle.
The original body and the male lead didn’t get along.
Could she?
An Huan thought for a while and decided that, regardless of other things, Xiao Zheng’s hygiene habits definitely needed to be corrected, as well as his smacking lips while eating.
But these things would have to be dealt with gradually.
An Huan looked at Xiao Zheng and said, “By the way, just now, a woman named Ge Hongying greeted me and said she attended our wedding.”
Xiao Zheng replied, “Hongying is Comrade Yu Baoshan’s wife. She’s very capable. She works at the Women’s Federation here in Yun County, and the family members often go to her if they have problems. If you run into difficulties, you can ask her for help too.”
An Huan thought to herself, no wonder Ge Hongying looked so capable and decisive.
Then, as if remembering something, Xiao Zheng asked, “You said you quit your job?”
An Huan nodded.
Xiao Zheng slowed down his eating, “Is it to follow me in the army?”
An Huan: “Mm.”
Xiao Zheng paused for a moment, but still couldn’t help asking, “Why are you willing now?”
Previously, Xiao Zheng had tentatively brought up the idea of her following him in the army, but before he could finish his sentence, An Huan interrupted him with a cold glance.
She had said that she wanted to pursue art and could never confine herself to family life, nor would she abandon her ideals for the sake of the family.
Xiao Zheng didn’t blame her; after all, he had no right to ask someone to give up their career for him.
But now, she had given up her ideals.
“We can’t live apart forever. You certainly won’t leave the army, so I’ll be the one making the sacrifice,” An Huan tried to present herself as a martyr for the family.
Xiao Zheng’s eyes held a trace of guilt. “No matter what, I owe you in this regard.”
In a short span of time, the situation had reversed.
In an instant, her image had shifted from the woman who had cuckolded her husband to the great woman who sacrificed for her family.
An Huan, feeling completely justified, accepted Xiao Zheng’s apology and, seizing the opportunity, demanded a reward. “Then you’ll have to treat me better in the future.”
She smiled sweetly, looking charming and coquettish.
Xiao Zheng had never seen this side of her before, his eyes staring blankly.
“Dad, some vegetables fell off your chopsticks,” Dongdong pointed and kindly reminded him.
Xiao Zheng snapped out of his daze, his face turning slightly red.
An Huan silently smiled. No matter how fierce or strong a man may be, he’s still just a man.
Dongdong, in a serious tone, declared, “Dad’s embarrassed.”
An Huan playfully asked, “Do you know why Dad is embarrassed?”
“Because he saw Mom being shy,” Dongdong seemed to understand everything.
Xiao Zheng coughed lightly, his fist pressed to his lips. The words lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say something like “for you” or similar things. Instead, he said, “From now on, I’ll listen to everything you say.”
No matter how much An Huan had changed suddenly, as long as she was willing to live with him, aside from things that went against his nature, it wasn’t a big deal to listen to her.
An Huan’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “This is what you said.”
Xiao Zheng straightened up, solemnly replying, “I said it.”
For the sake of courting, men are naturally adept at making promises, but whether those promises are kept is another story. “I’ll listen to everything you say” is a common phrase that men use in promises, but An Huan didn’t take it seriously.
However, the fact that Xiao Zheng felt guilty because of her “sacrificing her career” to follow him and that he didn’t think it was something he should take for granted, spoke volumes about his respect for his partner. He didn’t have that traditional male mindset that the man is the head of the household, and he understood the importance of mutual respect in a relationship.
With that, the foundation for their life together had been established.
As they returned home and passed by the front of the house, they ran into Ge Hongying again.
It turned out that she and her family lived next door.
After exchanging polite greetings, An Huan and Xiao Zheng walked inside with Dongdong.
Ge Hongying watched their retreating figures for a moment, then, once inside, complained to her husband, Yu Baoshan, “How is An Huan back? Didn’t she want a divorce from Xiao Zheng? Why is she with him again?”
Yu Baoshan, sipping his wine and enjoying the lively noise from their children running around, immediately lost his smile upon hearing his wife’s words. “I heard that Xiao An came back, but really, are they back together?”
“It looks like it,” Ge Hongying replied after shooing the kids away. In a lower voice, she added, “I saw Xiao Zheng’s son, and he doesn’t look like him at all.”
Yu Baoshan was startled, “What do you mean by that?”
Ge Hongying sneered, “When Xiao Zheng was in military school, their relationship was already rocky. An Huan would run back to her parents’ home every few days. Who knows if she was really going back to her parents’ house or…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Yu Baoshan cut her off, “Ge Hongying, mind your words. You need to be cautious when speaking. How can you just throw around rumors like that?”
Ge Hongying gave him a disdainful look, “Do I need you to lecture me? Anyway, An Huan, with her rich girl attitude, doesn’t look like the type to settle down. She wanted to divorce Xiao Zheng, and that says it all.”
Yu Baoshan waved his hand dismissively, “Long-distance relationships make anyone emotional. It’s normal for women to get upset. But look, she’s thought it over and came back, right?”
Ge Hongying paused for a moment, then sighed deeply, “Yeah, she came back. But what about my sister?”
Yu Baoshan casually tossed a piece of rice into his mouth, chewing slowly. After a while, he finally spoke, “Well, let’s just pretend nothing happened, and don’t bring it up again. As for Hongxia, don’t worry. There are plenty of single men in the military camp. I’ll find her someone decent.”
Ge Hongying wasn’t convinced. In her eyes, Xiao Zheng was the best choice.
She and her husband had known Xiao Zheng for a long time. They were aware that despite his rough exterior, he wasn’t a violent person. At such a young age, he had already risen to the position of deputy division commander, and his capabilities, achievements, and background were all impressive. His future was bright.
So when she heard that An Huan was considering a divorce, she had already made plans. She called her youngest sister over, eager to pair her up with Xiao Zheng once the divorce was finalized.
But now, things had taken an unexpected turn.
Ge Hongying muttered in frustration, “An Huan, if she wanted a divorce, she should have just done it. Why go back to him now?”
Suddenly, there was a faint sound of footsteps at the door. Ge Hongying looked over and saw the back of someone with long braids.
She sighed again, her heart heavy. “My sister doesn’t have that kind of luck…”