Chapter 018

Zhenzhen went back inside, but Dabai didn’t follow.

Instead, it trotted over to Li Shuang, lifted its head, and barked at her twice.

Li Shuang ignored the dog, adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag, and walked home.

Once home, she didn’t sit down. She grabbed her ration coupons and lunch box, then headed to the cafeteria for food, walking with her head down.

On her way back, she saw He Ziran playing with Dabai outside the door. Not long after, He Shuo, Shi Huaiming, and Old Zhou returned as well.

They sat around the table for dinner. Facing He Shuo and He Ziran, Li Shuang kept a cold expression and didn’t seem in the mood to talk.

Naturally, neither He Shuo nor He Ziran dared to provoke her. Seeing her like this, they stayed quiet.

He Shuo still assumed she was feeling unwell because of the pregnancy and attributed her mood to that.

–

At the table next door—

Zhenzhen wasn’t pulling a long face, but something clearly felt off about her too.

Shi Huaiming watched her for a moment as he ate, then asked, “Did you have a falling-out with Li Shuang?”

Zhenzhen was slightly startled when she heard that, wondering how he had noticed.

Still, worried that Shi Huaiming might scold her for making a fuss over nothing, she didn’t say much and simply replied, “It’s nothing, just a small thing.”

Since she didn’t want to talk, Shi Huaiming respected that and didn’t press further.

After dinner, they resumed their usual routine—more studying.

They had already finished learning all the pinyin, and Zhenzhen had memorized and mastered how to use it. So that day, Shi Huaiming began teaching her basic Chinese characters and had her read simple rhymes from the textbook to help her recognize characters.

Learning characters was similar to pinyin: master the pronunciation and strokes, then memorize through repetition.

He also continued teaching her math. Unlike memorization, math required more mental effort, understanding, and applying knowledge flexibly.

Once the lesson was over, Shi Huaiming checked the time and left for his class.

Not long after he left, Zhenzhen got up to take a break and went outside to throw out the trash.

As luck would have it, she ran into Li Shuang again just as she stepped out.

Zhenzhen avoided eye contact as before, pretended not to see her, and walked past without hesitation.

Seeing this, Li Shuang couldn’t help but hold her breath again.

A moment later, she let out a sigh and continued on to work.

From inside her window, Wu Dafeng had seen the whole thing.

When Zhenzhen came back from throwing out the trash, Wu Dafeng immediately stepped outside to intercept her. Pulling Zhenzhen aside, she asked with barely contained curiosity and gossip, “What happened? You and Li Shuang aren’t talking anymore?”

Previously, even when Wu Dafeng privately badmouthed Li Shuang, Zhenzhen would still defend her.

It was obvious to her that Zhenzhen genuinely liked Li Shuang and thought highly of her in every way.

Wu Dafeng couldn’t help speculating, “Is it because of me?”

But Zhenzhen didn’t want to stir up drama or speak ill of Li Shuang with Wu Dafeng.

Although she had felt deeply hurt by what she overheard Li Shuang say the previous evening—feeling like a fool in hindsight—when she thought it through, she realized Li Shuang had never actually done anything to wrong her. On the contrary, she had helped her quite a lot and taught her many things.

It was her own wishful thinking. They simply weren’t the same kind of people.

Not wanting to explain further, Zhenzhen said, “No, I just don’t feel like talking.”

Wu Dafeng kept pressing, “Why don’t you feel like talking? Did you two have a fight?”

Judging by Zhenzhen’s expression, Wu Dafeng was sure she’d guessed right.

Before Zhenzhen could respond, she jumped in again, “I’ve told you all along—Li Shuang isn’t a good person. Deep down, she looks down on people like us. You never believed me, even defended her and treated her so well. Well, now you see it for yourself, don’t you?”

But Zhenzhen still didn’t want to get into it.

She gave Wu Dafeng a couple of vague replies, then said, “Sister-in-law, I need to get back to studying.”

Wu Dafeng grimaced at the word “studying” as if it gave her a headache.

Still, this time she didn’t complain, letting Zhenzhen go home.

Watching her walk away, Wu Dafeng turned and went home herself, muttering and grumbling all the while.

As usual, her complaints circled back to Li Shuang and Shi Huaiming. They were the two people she disliked the most now.

She figured Zhenzhen was just too naive, thinking those people actually cared about her.

If it were her, she would’ve argued with Li Shuang a dozen times over by now, and clashed with Shi Huaiming ten more times on top of that.

If it were her, she’d toss all the books into the stove and burn them. Study, my ass!

She could wash clothes, cook, give birth, and raise children just fine—what right did they have to criticize her?

Being able to give birth to a son—that was her greatest strength!

Back home, Zhenzhen sat at the table, carefully copying Chinese characters stroke by stroke from the textbook.

She had only just started learning to write, so she moved slowly, trying hard to make each character look proper.

Even so, the characters still came out crooked and uneven.

Her pen tip landed in the grid of the exercise book, drawing a horizontal stroke, then a vertical one, forming the character “田” (field).

As she wrote, her mind began to wander.

She couldn’t help but think: maybe she really wasn’t good enough. Raised in the countryside with no education, no experience, no value—how could anyone truly respect her?

The more she thought, the more aggrieved she felt. Unnoticed, her eyes welled up.

When she realized her eyes were wet, she quickly wiped them and sniffled.

Despite her sorrow, she didn’t stop writing.

Gripping her pen, she kept copying the characters and told herself silently: Don’t fall apart like this. If I’m not good enough, then I just need to work harder.

Someday, she would be better.

At that thought, Zhenzhen took a deep breath through her nose.

Then she pushed those thoughts aside, refocused her attention on the Chinese characters, and diligently continued copying them.

After finishing the character for field (田), she moved on to mountain (山), then water (水)—memorizing each one, stroke by stroke.

–

After being cold-shouldered by Zhenzhen twice in a row, Li Shuang could no longer deny that her words had truly hurt her.

That afternoon at work, she was just like in the morning—expression stiff, head down, silently working. She wasn’t her usual self. She didn’t even take time to chat with Awen to unwind.

After getting off work, eating dinner, washing up, and getting ready for bed, her demeanor still hadn’t changed.

Before going to sleep, He Shuo sat on the bed and looked at her. He had a nagging feeling that it wasn’t just the pregnancy making her feel unwell.

After watching her quietly for a moment, he finally asked, “Is there something else bothering you?”

Li Shuang still didn’t want to talk and simply said, “No, it’s just the pregnancy. It’s uncomfortable.”

He Shuo studied her closely. “Really? It doesn’t seem like that’s all.”

Something about his words made her suddenly feel like she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She pressed her lips together and sat silently for a moment. Then, all at once, her eyes filled with tears. They were about to spill from the corners of her eyes.

Startled by her sudden reaction, He Shuo quickly handed her a handkerchief and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

Li Shuang took the handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.

Head down, her emotions surged. Unable to contain it anymore, her mouth twisted, and she began to cry.

As she cried, she spoke between sobs: “I don’t want to cry… but I feel terrible, and I can’t control it…”

He Shuo knew that pregnancy could make a woman’s emotions more volatile.

Negative feelings often got amplified, making women extra sensitive and tearful—crying even over minor things.

He softly comforted her. “If something’s bothering you, tell me. Maybe I can help you figure it out. If it’s something I did, just say it—I’ll reflect and apologize to you right now.”

His words helped ease Li Shuang’s heart a bit.

She sniffled and tried to pull herself together.

With red eyes, she looked at He Shuo and told him everything that had happened between her and Zhenzhen.

After explaining what happened, she said, her voice slightly nasal, “When I was talking to Awen about Wu Dafeng badmouthing me, I just got mad. I was angry and ended up venting it all. I fought with Wu Dafeng, and now I’ve offended Zhenzhen too. I feel so awful—it’s driving me crazy.”

She continued, rambling slightly, “To be honest, I never really thought of her as a real friend. I just figured—we’re neighbors, and she seemed sweet and easy to be around, so I just went with the flow…”

“I thought I didn’t care much either… but…”

“But then she brought me fish soup, and I just—lost it…”

“I wanted to say something, maybe explain, but she wouldn’t even acknowledge me…”

“Being pregnant already sucks enough…”

“This is just unbearable…”

Though her words were jumbled, He Shuo understood everything.

With patience, he looked at her and asked, “So, what now? If you don’t know how to explain things to her, or feel too embarrassed, how about I talk to Huaiming and explain for you?”

Li Shuang immediately shook her head, sniffling, “No.”

He Shuo looked at her seriously, “So you’re just going to keep bottling it up?”

Li Shuang sniffled again. “Just saying it out loud already makes me feel a lot better. You don’t need to do anything.”

With that, she pulled the blanket over herself and turned to lie on her side. “I’m tired. Going to sleep!”

Seeing her like this, He Shuo naturally turned off the light.

He lay down beside her, patted her back twice, and closed his eyes to sleep.

–

The next morning, everything went on as usual—morning training, breakfast, and classes.

During a break, He Shuo asked Shi Huaiming to take a walk with him. As they strolled in the warm sunlight, he asked, “How’s your Xiaomianhua doing?”

Shi Huaiming glanced at him. “Why? What’s going on?”

He Shuo looked back at him. “She didn’t tell you? She and Li Shuang had a falling out.”

Shi Huaiming replied, “I had a feeling, but when I asked her, she wouldn’t say a thing.”

He Shuo said, “It was Li Shuang’s fault. She said something that really hurt her.”

Shi Huaiming asked, “What exactly happened?”

Given both Zhenzhen and Li Shuang’s personalities, it was surprising that they’d argue at all.

Li Shuang cared about appearances, and Zhenzhen wasn’t one to stir up trouble.

He Shuo exhaled slowly and gave him a brief rundown of what had happened between the two.

Shi Huaiming nodded as he listened, showing he understood everything.

Then He Shuo added, “There’s not much we can do about it. They’ll have to sort it out themselves.”

Shi Huaiming said, “If Li Shuang truly realizes she was wrong, she should apologize to our Zhenzhen.”

He Shuo gave him a look. “She’s pregnant, though.”

Shi Huaiming replied, “So what if she’s pregnant? Being pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t say sorry.”

Before He Shuo could respond, class time arrived.

The two of them turned around and headed back to the classroom, focusing their minds on the lesson again.

–

Zhenzhen spent the whole morning copying Chinese characters.

When she glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly lunchtime, she wrapped up her review and headed to the kitchen to cook.

She lit the stove, steamed some rice, and stir-fried two simple dishes—just enough for two.

It was just daily home cooking, nothing fancy.

She made a plate of dry-fried cabbage with pork belly—just a few thin slices of pork rendered to release the oil before stir-frying the cabbage until tender.

Then she stir-fried a small plate of fresh greens—crisp and refreshing.

When the food was done, she waited a little while and, through the window, saw Li Shuang, He Shuo, and Old Zhou return home one after another.

She sat and waited a bit more until Shi Huaiming finally came home and opened the door.

Hearing the door open, Zhenzhen went into the kitchen to scoop out the rice.

Shi Huaiming hung his hat, quickly stopped by the bedroom, then came out, washed his hands, and sat down to eat.

He quietly ate a few bites, then asked Zhenzhen, “Feeling any better now?”

Hearing those words, Zhenzhen paused slightly, momentarily taken aback.

She blinked at Shi Huaiming, then responded softly, “I’m okay.”

Shi Huaiming’s tone was neutral, devoid of emotion. “If there’s something on your mind, you can talk to me.”

Zhenzhen guessed that he probably knew something.

She lowered her head, lightly stirring the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, and said in a quiet voice, “I’m afraid you’ll think I’m annoying.”

Old Zhou was clearly annoyed by Wu Dafeng, and Zhenzhen didn’t want their relationship to become like that.

Shi Huaiming replied, “With your personality, how annoying could you possibly be?”

Zhenzhen looked up at him, hesitated for a moment, then said, “The day before yesterday, I went to the provisions store and accidentally overheard what Sister-in-law Li Shuang said. It really upset me. I felt awful.”

Shi Huaiming said, “She might have just been saying the opposite of what she really feels. Didn’t you say before that people like you because you have a good temperament?”

Zhenzhen shook her head. “I was just being naive.”

Shi Huaiming said, “No, she made you feel that she liked being around you, and that counts for something. Her actions showed she enjoyed your company — that kind of feeling can’t be faked. And Li Shuang isn’t the type to fake something like that.”

Zhenzhen stared at him for a moment, then earnestly considered what he’d just said.

She thought back to how things were when she and Li Shuang spent time together. It had been fun and harmonious — Li Shuang had never shown a hint of impatience. She had always been attentive, willing to help, and eager to teach her things.

But then she remembered what Li Shuang had said in the store…

Forget it… better not to dwell on it…

After finishing the meal, Zhenzhen quickly pulled herself together and went to Shi Huaiming’s room to study.

Shi Huaiming sat down next to her. Instead of starting the lesson right away, he placed two items in front of her.

Two flat paper boxes, each about half the size of a palm.

Zhenzhen didn’t recognize the words on the packaging and asked, “What’s this?”

“Chocolate,” Shi Huaiming replied. “I heard it can help improve your mood.”

Zhenzhen looked at the chocolates in front of her, then turned to glance at Shi Huaiming.

Her lips tensed slightly, but a faint smile crept across her face. She said softly, “Thank you, Third Brother.”

Shi Huaiming let the moment pass and said, “If you’re feeling better, let’s get started with the lesson.”

Zhenzhen nodded, set the chocolates aside, and focused on learning the new material with him.

Once the lesson was done, Shi Huaiming went off to class.

Hearing the door close behind him, Zhenzhen set down her pencil and picked up the chocolates.

She turned the packaging over a few times, examining both sides, then carefully opened the box.

Inside was a bar of chocolate wrapped in silver foil.

She gently peeled back the foil to reveal a large, dark slab divided into neat, square segments.

Zhenzhen broke off one small square from the corner and slowly placed it in her mouth.

She ate it gradually, savoring the rich sweetness and smooth texture — it was an entirely new taste for her.

Finding it delicious, she broke off one more square and ate it too.

Although she didn’t know how much it cost, it definitely didn’t seem cheap, so she didn’t eat any more.

After two pieces, she carefully rewrapped the chocolate in the foil and returned it to the box.

Then, with the sweet aftertaste still lingering on her tongue, she calmly resumed copying Chinese characters.

After studying and preparing dinner, she heard Dabai scratching at the door. Zhenzhen went out to play with the dog for a while to relax.

At that time, Wu Dafeng was busy cooking at home, so she didn’t come out to chat.

While Zhenzhen was playing with Dabai, she happened to run into Li Shuang, who had just returned from work.

Zhenzhen continued to act as if she hadn’t seen her, tossing the ball for Dabai and letting him chase it around.

Seeing that Zhenzhen was pretending she didn’t exist, Li Shuang naturally didn’t call out or try to greet her either.

She walked to her front door with her bag, took out her keys to unlock it, but just as she inserted the key into the lock, she froze.

It still didn’t sit right with her — like a fishbone stuck in her throat.

After a moment, she took a deep breath, pulled the key out, turned around, and walked back toward Zhenzhen.

Standing in front of her, Li Shuang hesitated before speaking. “Xiaomianhua, there’s something I want to say to you.”

Zhenzhen didn’t respond. She turned and caught the ball from Dabai’s mouth, then threw it again.

As Dabai chased the ball, Li Shuang took another breath and said, “I know what I said hurt you, I…”

Everything she could think of saying felt like making excuses.

She paused, then continued, “I know you probably feel uncomfortable around me right now, but I just want to say — I really enjoy being friends with you. I sincerely apologize. I was wrong. Can you forgive me, just this once?”

Zhenzhen still didn’t say anything.

As Dabai ran back with the ball and curled up in his spot, Zhenzhen turned and walked back home without a word.

Li Shuang had been left hanging again.

Watching Zhenzhen walk off in silence, she could only stand there, feeling awkward and alone. Instinctively, she let out another deep breath.

She had never expected someone who seemed so gentle to be so stubborn underneath.

Trying to compose herself, she was just about to head home when she suddenly heard a voice not far off:

“Zhenzhen doesn’t want to talk to you anymore, so stop making a fool of yourself. You even managed to upset someone as good-natured as her — what kind of person are you?”

Li Shuang turned around and saw Wu Dafeng standing at her door.

Not in the mood for this, Li Shuang shot back, “Mind your own business!”

Wu Dafeng let out a short laugh. “You city folks are really something — even when you pick a fight, you’re still so polite.”

Li Shuang was about to say something else when a sharp voice suddenly cut in: “What’s going on here?!”

The stern voice belonged to Old Zhou, and he was returning with Shi Huaiming and He Shuo.

Li Shuang had no interest in getting into it with Wu Dafeng in front of all these people.

She swallowed the words in her mouth and turned to head home.

Wu Dafeng, being held down by Old Zhou, naturally didn’t stay standing either and turned to go home.

Shi Huaiming, He Shuo, and Old Zhou exchanged a quick “Goodbye,” each heading home.

–

Li Shuang’s Home.

After washing her hands, she sat down to eat.

He Shuo asked Li Shuang, “Why were you arguing with her at the door again?”

Li Shuang replied, “She just loves to meddle in other people’s business. What can I do? I couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.”

He Shuo understood the implication in her words.

He then looked at her and asked, “Meddling in what business? Did you talk to Xiaomianhua?”

Li Shuang nodded.

He Shuo asked, “How did it go?”

Li Shuang replied, “She ignored me.”

He Shuo looked at Liu Shuang and asked, “Did you apologize to her?”

Li Shuang nodded, “Yes, I did.”

He Shuo said, “She’s still upset.”

Li Shuang lowered her head as she ate, and after a moment, she said, “Forget it.”

–

Zhenzhen’s Home.

Zhenzhen was eating and spoke to Shi Huaiming: “She apologized to me.”

Shi Huaiming followed up, “So, did you forgive her?”

Zhenzhen shook her head, “I didn’t respond to her.”

Shi Huaiming asked, “So you’re not going to forgive her? Are you never going to speak to her again?”

Zhenzhen shook her head again, “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far.”

To Shi Huaiming, this was no big deal.

In relationships between people, small frictions and conflicts were normal.

Everyone’s time and energy were limited, and it was better to focus on meaningful things.

That was what Zhenzhen was doing.

Because there were more important things to focus on—like studying, improving, and enriching herself—she didn’t have much time to dwell on things with Li Shuang. Her main focus was on her studies.

Only after completing the day’s study tasks did she have the mind for other things.

Zhenzhen went back to her room, stretched lazily, and before washing up, she carefully opened a box of chocolates on her desk, taking a couple of pieces.

With a sweet taste in her mouth, she grabbed her clothes and went to wash up.

After washing up, she returned to her room, lay down on the bed, blinked, and relaxed.

Then she turned over, reached out to turn off the light, pulled the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes to sleep.

–

When you focus on tasks, time passes quickly.

It was like an unceasing wheel, turning forward endlessly.

The main content of Zhenzhen’s life was studying, and the rest was cooking.

While completing her study tasks, she would also make time to practice riding her bike or go to the convenience store for some shopping.

Today, she was going to the convenience store.

Awen stood behind the counter and greeted her, “What would you like?”

Zhenzhen said, “Half a pound of white sugar, half a pound of salt, and half a pound of vegetable oil.”

Awen prepared the items for her, took her money, and gave her a receipt.

Watching Zhenzhen leave with her items, Awen sighed, stretching her limbs a little.

She could tell that Zhenzhen and Li Shuang were still at odds.

If things were better between them, Zhenzhen would have greeted Li Shuang warmly when she entered the store.

Though it was slightly related to her, it wasn’t a big deal, so she didn’t get too involved.

This was how relationships worked—sometimes good, sometimes bad, and that was normal.

She and Li Shuang had also had their fair share of arguments.

After standing behind the counter for a while longer, it was time for her to clock out.

Awen and Li Shuang left work together, walking to the school gate, waving goodbye as they parted ways.

Li Shuang, early in her pregnancy, had been feeling unwell and was even more tired after a full day of work.

She walked slowly and, upon arriving home, put down her bag and sat on the couch to rest for a bit.

After a short rest, she stood up again, took her ration coupons and lunch box, and went to the cafeteria for food.

She walked slowly with her fabric bag that contained an empty lunch box.

Halfway there, her eyes scanned the roadside and suddenly spotted a familiar figure sitting on the curb.

It was Zhenzhen, sitting with her legs drawn up, her face buried in her knees.

Li Shuang kept walking, but after a few steps, she stopped.

She turned around and walked up to Zhenzhen, asking, “What are you doing sitting here?”

Zhenzhen kept her face hidden, not speaking, and simply shook her head.

Li Shuang crouched down. It was only then that she noticed Zhenzhen’s forehead was covered in sweat.

Seeing that something was wrong, Li Shuang’s voice tightened. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Zhenzhen gritted her teeth, and after a long pause, managed to say, “Stomach hurts…”

Li Shuang’s gaze fell on the hand Zhenzhen was clutching her stomach with, and she quietly asked, “Is it that time of the month?”

Zhenzhen weakly responded, “Yeah.”

Not wanting to cook because of the stomach pain, Zhenzhen had come to get some food.

But halfway there, the pain worsened, and she couldn’t walk any further.

Seeing Zhenzhen’s face pale with sweat pouring down, Li Shuang set her bag aside and reached out to help her up.

However, Zhenzhen was an adult, and Li Shuang couldn’t lift her on her own.

Even if she managed to help her up, she couldn’t get her back home.

Li Shuang took a deep breath and said, “Shi Huaiming hasn’t finished class yet. Wait here for a bit.”

She immediately stood up and ran back.

She returned to the yard, grabbed her bicycle, and came back.

She steadied the bike in front of Zhenzhen and tried to help her up again.

She couldn’t do it alone, so she encouraged Zhenzhen: “Use a little strength and just sit on the bike.”

Upon hearing this, Zhenzhen gritted her teeth and used Li Shuang’s support to stand up.

Li Shuang helped her onto the back of the bike while saying, “Good job, just sit there.”

Once Zhenzhen was on the bike, Li Shuang glanced at her and noticed that Zhenzhen’s pants were dirty.

Women are often sensitive about these things. Without hesitation, Li Shuang took off her jacket and tied the sleeves around Zhenzhen’s waist.

Zhenzhen, her face pale, bent over and rested her head on the bicycle seat.

Li Shuang steadied the bike, kicked up the stand, and began pushing it home.

She wheeled the bicycle all the way to the gate of Zhenzhen’s house.

Then, she fished out the house key from Zhenzhen’s pocket, opened the gate, and came back to help her off the bike.

Once Zhenzhen was off, Li Shuang said, “Just hang in there a little longer. Once you’re inside, you can lie down.”

But they had barely taken two steps when a voice called out, “Oh my, what happened?”

Li Shuang turned to see Wu Dafeng and quietly explained, “She’s on her period—come help me.”

Wu Dafeng understood immediately and hurried over to support Zhenzhen.

With the two of them on either side, things got much easier. They helped Zhenzhen into the house and onto her bed.

Zhenzhen weakly shook her head. “I’ll stain it…”

Li Shuang was a little exasperated. “Seriously? You’re still worried about that right now?”

As she spoke, she fetched some tissue paper, layered it over the bed, and helped Zhenzhen lie down.

Once she was settled, Wu Dafeng asked, “Do your periods always hurt this much?”

Zhenzhen slowly shook her head twice, her voice barely a whisper. “It’s not usually like this.”

Li Shuang let out a breath. “Maybe it’s just your body not used to the climate here.”

Then she asked, “Do you have any brown sugar at home?”

Zhenzhen shook her head again.

Wu Dafeng added, “I don’t have any at my place either.”

“I do,” said Li Shuang, heading out the door. “I’ll go get some. You find some ginger.”

Zhenzhen looked so drained that Wu Dafeng didn’t bother asking if she had ginger at home. She ran back to her own place, grabbed a small piece of ginger, washed it, sliced it up, and boiled it with the brown sugar Li Shuang brought.

When the ginger-brown sugar tea was ready, she handed it to Zhenzhen, still steaming hot.

Zhenzhen took the cup in both hands and sipped it slowly, blowing on it between each mouthful.

The hot tea warmed her from her throat all the way down to her stomach, and before long, she felt a comforting heat in her belly too.

Once she finished drinking, she did feel a bit better.

Zhenzhen looked at Li Shuang and murmured, “Thanks.”

Li Shuang didn’t respond. She picked up her jacket. “Just rest.”

Seeing that Zhenzhen seemed okay, she left.

Wu Dafeng had already prepared dinner and stayed behind in Zhenzhen’s room.

After Li Shuang closed the front gate, Wu Dafeng commented, “She’s actually pretty thoughtful.”

Zhenzhen pressed her lips together, feeling as if her throat were stuffed with cotton.

Li Shuang continued on toward the canteen.

On the way, she picked up both her own and Zhenzhen’s lunchboxes, just as she ran into Shi Huaiming, He Shuo, and Old Zhou.

He Shuo ran up first and reached for her lunchboxes. “Let me carry them.”

“They haven’t been filled yet,” Li Shuang said.

She handed Zhenzhen’s lunchbox to Shi Huaiming. “This one’s for your wife.”

Shi Huaiming blinked. “Zhenzhen’s?”

He took the box and asked, “What’s going on with her?”

Some things were too awkward to say outright. Li Shuang simply replied, “You’ll see when you get home.”

Since she didn’t want to explain, Shi Huaiming didn’t press further.

He and He Shuo went to get the food, while Li Shuang stayed behind to wait. Old Zhou went home alone.

When he got home and didn’t see Wu Dafeng, just the four kids and He Ziran playing outside, he called out, “Sanwa! Go get your mom for dinner.”

Sanwa answered and ran straight to Zhenzhen’s house.

–

After Wu Dafeng left, Zhenzhen was alone in her room.

She wasn’t fully lying down—more like half-reclining, her back against a pillow propped on the headboard.

She’d only had her eyes closed for a short while when she heard the door open again.

Moments later, Shi Huaiming pushed open her bedroom door and walked in.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

It was a bit of a private matter, and Zhenzhen didn’t quite know how to explain it. So she simply said, “My stomach hurts.”

Shi Huaiming didn’t catch the deeper meaning, only responding, “Then let’s go to the clinic.”

Zhenzhen quickly shook her head. “No need. I’ll be fine after some rest.”

Shi Huaiming frowned. “How can you ignore it if you’re sick?”

Seeing his expression, Zhenzhen worried he might actually try to carry her to the clinic himself.

Left with no choice, she muttered, “I’m on my period.”

Shi Huaiming took a second to process her words.

After a moment, he nodded. “Oh.”

Awkward silence followed.

Zhenzhen gave a small “Mm.”