Chapter 33: Only Thirty, and Already Useless

The second letter came from the original host’s so-called first love.

His name was Chen Siyan, and he had once taught the original host music theory at the University.

The original host had always admired talented people, and with him being her instructor, that admiration was filtered through an added layer of idealization. She quickly fell for Chen Siyan’s advances, and the two secretly began dating.

Unexpectedly, someone reported them.

Though a student-teacher romance wasn’t illegal, it still faced heavy social scrutiny and could seriously damage reputations.

Chen Siyan flatly denied their relationship and immediately resigned from his teaching position. They lost contact after that.

Later, the original host joined the symphony orchestra, and the two happened to meet again.

With sweet talk and elaborate lies, Chen Siyan coaxed her back into his arms. But it didn’t take long for her to discover that just six months after rekindling their relationship, he had gotten married.

Betrayed again and again, the original host, in a fit of rage and heartbreak, went to a matchmaking event, where she met Xiao Zheng—and married him.

Although they worked in the same department, over the past few years, the original host and Chen Siyan had little interaction outside of work—until his divorce.

Afterward, Chen Siyan came to her with an impassioned confession. He claimed his marriage had been forced by his family, that there had never been any love between them, and that he had always loved her. The divorce, he said, was for her…

The original host was moved and filed for divorce from Xiao Zheng, intending to return to her first love.

An Huan: …

Speechless.

No matter how she looked at it, this was just a textbook case of someone hopelessly infatuated.

In truth, being infatuated wasn’t the scary part—it was being the only one infatuated that hurt. And the one who suffered wasn’t someone else, but herself.

While the original host’s tragic life was largely her own doing, the scumbag had definitely played a manipulative and exploitative role.

An Huan originally intended to burn the nauseating letter, but a sudden idea stopped her. She tucked it away in a drawer instead.

Since An Huan started working, she almost never cooked lunch anymore. It wasn’t for lack of time—many women didn’t start cooking until after returning home from work—but rather because Xiao Zheng couldn’t bear to see her constantly on the move and strictly forbade her from using the stove at noon.

An Huan, being someone who enjoyed comfort, naturally had no desire to overwork herself.

But the canteen food left much to be desired. It wasn’t that the chefs lacked skill, but with supply being limited, they couldn’t afford to use quality ingredients like she could. The nutrition just didn’t compare.

So she still cooked dinner herself, and tried to make it hearty enough to cover lunch the next day as well.

Seeing that Xiao Zheng hadn’t returned yet and Dongdong was in the study practicing his calligraphy, An Huan slipped into her spatial dimension, took out a three-pound chunk of beef, and prepared to make a fragrant spicy beef sauce for lunch.

Just as she brought out the beef, she heard Xiao Zheng’s voice from the kitchen door. “What delicious thing are you making?”

Startled, An Huan nearly jumped out of her skin. She clutched her chest and glared back at him. “Can’t you make some noise when you walk? You scared me to death!”

Xiao Zheng eyed her closely. “Why do you look so guilty? Up to no good?”

An Huan shot him another glare.

Absolutely not admitting she was flustered.

It seemed she’d need to be more careful when using the space from now on. This man was so stealthy—there was no telling when he might suddenly appear.

An Huan had never considered revealing the secret of the spatial dimension to anyone. Not even to her Father or Mother, and certainly not to Xiao Zheng.

To change the subject, she said, “Since you’re back, I’m handing this beef over to you. Dice it into small cubes—I’m making a sauce.”

“Sure thing.” Xiao Zheng washed his hands and got to work, casually commenting, “Pretty lucky to get such a large cut of beef.”

The main export of the food factory was canned beef and pork, so Yun County had dedicated cattle farms and slaughterhouses. The supply and marketing cooperative got their share too, though scoring a good cut came down to luck.

“Mm, very lucky,” An Huan echoed, glancing at the beef on the cutting board. She hesitated. “Would it be too much to make all of it into sauce? It’s hot these days—it might only keep for two days at most.”

Xiao Zheng replied, “Why don’t you send some to Chief of Staff Shi’s house? Madam Meihua helps you out all the time.”

That was exactly what An Huan had in mind.

Once the sauce was ready, she filled two jars with it and took one to Zhou Meihua.

Zhou Meihua sniffed the air. “What kind of sauce is this? Smells amazing!”

“Beef sauce—with crushed peanuts and sesame,” An Huan replied.

Zhou Meihua’s eyes widened. “So many good ingredients! I can’t accept this—you should take it back for your child!”

An Huan turned and walked off. “I’ve got more at home. Just try it and tell me what you think of my cooking.”

Zhou Meihua looked at An Huan’s retreating figure and chuckled helplessly. This girl was truly kind-hearted.

Just then, Shi Xiaojun came sniffing in. “Mom, what’s that smell? Smells great!”

“You’ve got a dog’s nose!” Zhou Meihua teased. “Go bring a plate of those dumplings in the kitchen over to the neighbors, and then come eat.”

“Okay!” Shi Xiaojun dashed off.

“Shi Weiguang!” Zhou Meihua called out. “Stop fiddling with that useless radio. Time to eat!”

At the dinner table, Zhou Meihua said to Shi Weiguang, “I’ve been meaning to invite Xiao An and her husband over for a meal. Find a chance these next couple of days to speak with Deputy Commander Xiao.”

Shi Weiguang asked, “Why do we need to invite them for dinner?”

Zhou Meihua gave him an exasperated look. “No reason—I just want to!”

Shi Weiguang was taken aback. Can’t even ask a question anymore?

He mumbled, “Your temper’s getting worse…”

Zhou Meihua couldn’t help but mentally complain—how could her temper not worsen when she was stuck with a man who was useless every night…

Meanwhile, An Huan brought the last jar of beef sauce to Commander Chen’s house. Commander Chen was the top-ranking officer, and it wouldn’t do to overlook his household when delivering things.

As for the rest—there was no need to bother.

After that welcome banquet, her relationship with Ge Hongying had become subtly strained. Everyone knew it, so it was only natural the two families stopped interacting.

As for Deputy Director Wang’s household, etiquette dictated she should maintain some contact, but Wang’s elderly mother was a notoriously difficult woman with a poor reputation throughout the Courtyard. An Huan chose to steer clear, only observing basic formalities.

Of the five jars she made, two went to Zhou Meihua and Wen Xueman. The remaining three, An Huan stored in the cellar.

When she came back up, she saw Xiao Zheng drawing water for her bath. “I’ll do it myself,” she said quickly. “You can’t get the temperature right. Just help me carry it to the bathroom later.”

“I know you like it hot,” he replied. “I made it pretty hot.”

He’d been helping her with this for days, and had long noticed she preferred hotter baths.

An Huan tested the temperature, then continued adding more boiling water before she was satisfied.

Xiao Zheng reached in and touched it. “You trying to scald a pig?”

An Huan shot him a glare.

Xiao Zheng coughed lightly and carried the water to the bathroom.

Their bathroom was fairly spacious and didn’t smell much, since their house was in the first row and there were no other buildings behind the courtyard. The latrine pit had been dug out back in an open area and shielded from view, so the smell rarely wafted over.

With a tub and curtain installed, they could even take hot baths at home during the winter.

In summer, a quick rinse sufficed. An Huan finished bathing in just over ten minutes. The hot water left her body refreshed when cooled by the breeze.

“Old Xiao, Old Xiao.” She called several times before Xiao Zheng emerged from the study.

“No more writing practice for Dongdong tonight,” she said. “Bad for the eyes. Give him a quick wash and get him ready for bed.”

It took a moment before Xiao Zheng responded with a quiet, “Mm.”

An Huan sensed he seemed a little down but didn’t think much of it.

Not until they got into bed did she realize—he was genuinely upset.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, tracing circles on his chest in a teasing tone. “My monthly visitor is gone.”

She’d just finished her period, which had made things inconvenient the past few days. Now, she was fully available again.

Xiao Zheng looked at her with a complicated gaze. Emotions surged inside him, crashing against his chest, leaving him aching.

Taking a deep breath, he said slowly, “I’m a little tired.”

An Huan: …

She waited all this time, only to hear that?

Usually when a man said he was tired, it meant he’d exhausted himself during the day and couldn’t muster the energy at night—but that kind of thing rarely happened to young men. A guy in his twenties could plow two acres during the day and still be full of energy at night.

But… Xiao Zheng had just turned thirty.

An Huan’s heart sank to the floor.

He looked strong and fit—she’d assumed he’d be a real powerhouse in bed.

But it turned out he was all looks and no stamina.

Only thirty, and already useless.