Chapter 35: Made the Food Too Delicious, Which Got His Wife Mad

The only ones who could call this number were his family, and among them, the most likely person to call was his grandmother.

He would have to talk for at least over ten minutes.

He picked up the phone. “Hello, this is Fu Tingzhou.”

A kind and gentle voice came from the other end. “Tingzhou, it’s Grandma. I just called the military district, and the comrade at the phone room said you’re on leave. Why haven’t you come home these past few times? Is there something keeping you busy?”

“Grandma, my leaves are usually only three to five days, no more than seven at most. Yangcheng is so far from the capital that just the travel would take up most of the time. So I figured I’d wait and come see you during the New Year.”

“I thought you had forgotten your grandma.”

Fu Tingzhou chuckled lightly. “How could I? I might forget others, but never my grandma who always worries about me.”

“A’Ye, that’s my good grandson, the one I raised myself. I promise you, next time you come back, no one will force you to go on blind dates anymore—unless you want to. Not even your grandpa can make you.”

It had been almost a year since her grandson last returned home. He didn’t have much leave, and even when he did, he didn’t come back. They assumed it was because they pressured him into blind dates before, and he resented it, so he didn’t want to come home.

“Thank you, Grandma.”

It had been more than half a year since she last saw her grandson. Now that they finally had a chance to talk, and knowing he was on leave, Grandma wanted to chat longer.

Li Zhi was waiting for him to finish his call so they could eat together.

As a guest, it wouldn’t be right to eat before the host, especially when he had made the food. It would also look strange if he ended up eating the leftovers. So she didn’t touch the food, waiting for Fu Tingzhou to eat with her.

Fu Tingzhou, anxious to join Li Zhi for the meal, quickly wrapped up the conversation after just over ten minutes.

Back then, phone calls were expensive. Most people kept their calls short and to the point, rarely lasting more than two minutes, often less than one.

But Grandma didn’t want to hang up so soon. “So quick to hang up? Grandma still has a lot to talk to you about. Haven’t eaten yet?”

“Yes, Grandma. I’m eating now—made some pig trotters soup. If I don’t drink it soon, it’ll go cold.”

“Oh, I see. Then go eat quickly, eat a lot, drink more soup, put on some weight. Every time you come back, you’re skinny as a twig. It makes Grandma’s heart ache.”

“Pfft~”
Li Zhi almost burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

She looked at Fu Tingzhou—broad shoulders, tall and long-legged, standing in front of her like a mountain. If that was what Grandma called “skinny as a twig,” then what did that make her?

A piece of straw?

Even though Grandma was old, her hearing was still sharp. “Eh? Is someone with you? Are you eating with a friend? Sounds like a young lady’s voice.”

Li Zhi panicked and quickly shook her head at him.

Fu Tingzhou glanced at her and understood what she meant.

“Grandma, you must’ve misheard. It’s just a little stray cat that wandered into the courtyard. She looked small and skinny, so I took her in, planning to feed her until she’s round and chubby.”

Li Zhi (the stray cat): “…”

Grandma believed her good grandson wouldn’t lie, so she took him at his word. After chatting a bit more and confirming that her skinny-as-a-stick grandson wasn’t starving, she urged him to eat and finally hung up.

Fu Tingzhou returned to the table, looking a little apologetic. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

“Fu Tingzhou, who are you calling a stray cat?” Li Zhi glared at him fiercely, just like a little stray cat who had puffed up in anger.

It was the first time Fu Tingzhou heard her call his full name, and oddly enough, he found it kind of nice—just like when she’d called him “husband” in a hoarse voice in his dream.

His deep phoenix eyes fell on the girl’s puffed-up cheeks. His gaze softened. Instead of feeling offended, he found her adorable. Even her “ferocity” was cute and tickled his heart.

He shrugged helplessly with a smile. “Zhizhi, you have to be fair. You’re the one who doesn’t want me to reveal your identity. If it weren’t for that, I’d have already told Grandma you’re my girlfriend. I wouldn’t have had to lie.”

Li Zhi blinked her clear, pretty eyes, voice sweet and soft. “That’s true, I guess. It’s not your fault—but it’s not mine either. You’re still in your probation period, after all.”

“It’s okay. I’m not blaming you. I’ll work hard to become official soon. Then I’ll share this good news with Grandma—she’ll be so happy.”

Li Zhi teased, “Your grandma’s worried you’re too skinny and might send you food. But you’ve been giving it all to me. What if she gets mad at me when she finds out?”

Fu Tingzhou raised an eyebrow, laughing lightly. “No way. If she knew I had a granddaughter-in-law now, she’d be thrilled. She wouldn’t have the heart to get mad at you.”

“Then I won’t worry.”

Fu Tingzhou added, “Zhizhi, when I go home for New Year’s, the other elders might try to push me into blind dates again. Could you give me a title before then, so I can tell them to stop?”

Li Zhi looked down and thought for a moment before saying, “Well, let’s say… if, and I mean if, I let you ‘become official,’ could you wait until after my college entrance exam results come out before telling your family?”

She was currently a repeat student who had failed the exam once—she had nothing. She didn’t feel worthy of him yet. She wanted to stand beside him as an equal, not be looked down on.

Fu Tingzhou also didn’t want to affect her exams. “Okay, I agree. But rumors are already going around in the army that I have a girlfriend. I probably can’t hide it from my family either. If they ask, I’ll just say I’m dating someone but won’t say who. Only you, me, and Zhou Yufeng will know.”

Li Zhi nodded. “Okay.”

After they finished talking, she focused on eating. Fu Tingzhou’s cooking was amazing—her appetite bloomed, and she ended up eating an extra bowl of rice.

When she got thirsty, she picked up the hot soup and sipped it gently, only to notice him staring at her without eating.

“Hm? Why aren’t you eating? Just watching me eat won’t fill you up. You need to eat, too.”

Fu Tingzhou said, “I was wondering if the food suits your taste—should I improve anything? If there’s something to fix, I’ll ask a chef or read up and upgrade my skills.”

“This is already amazing. You don’t need to improve anything. It’s too good. I ate so much my belly’s bulging. If I eat your food every day, I’ll get fat.”

Fu Tingzhou replied, “A little chubby is good—chubby means blessings.”

He liked his little wife with more flesh—made things more fun in bed. Too skinny and he’d be afraid of breaking her.

Li Zhi imagined herself as a chubby woman who couldn’t fit into pretty dresses and immediately shook her head. “No way. I have curves in all the right places. This figure is perfect. You’re not allowed to upgrade your cooking skills anymore.”

Fu Tingzhou nodded in agreement, though his real thoughts were the opposite. “Zhizhi, eat more meat and drink more soup—meat makes your brain sharper. You’ll solve problems faster and more accurately.”

“Okay!” Li Zhi was coaxed into drinking several bowls of soup and eating quite a few pieces of pig trotter. In the end, her belly was so full she had to go walk in the courtyard to digest.

She got mad at Fu Tingzhou, blaming his excellent cooking, and seriously told him not to secretly improve his skills again.

To make it up to her, Fu Tingzhou mysteriously pulled out a light yellow dress as a peace offering.

And also a designer handbag—both from luxury foreign brands.

There were barely any stores like that in the country.

The dress was Chanel, and the bag was LV.

Fu Tingzhou had asked a friend in Hong Kong to send them over through special channels.

He’d already received the package while at the base. Last night, he had secretly washed the dress and hung it out in the back courtyard to dry.

Now, he brought it out to surprise her.

Li Zhi was touched—not because of the price of the dress or bag, but because someone had thoughtfully prepared a gift for her. That was what made her happy.

She changed into the new dress right away. The collar and chest were adorned with delicate ruffles—simple yet elegant. The square neckline revealed her fair collarbones.

The French-style cinched waist accentuated her slim figure, showing off her graceful curves perfectly.

Li Zhi twirled lightly in front of him, the ruffled hem fluttering like petals in bloom.

After one spin, she paused, bent her knees slightly, lifted the sides of the skirt with both hands, and looked up with smiling eyes. “Does it look good?”

“It looks good—very beautiful.”
To Fu Tingzhou, the dress had seemed quite ordinary at first. But the moment she wore it, it became stunning.

His little wife was so beautiful—she looked good in anything.

He handed her the brown LV handbag in his hand.

“It goes even better with the bag.”

Once again, he was struck by how stunning she was. He resolved to work harder and earn more money—to buy her even more beautiful dresses.