Chapter 22 Here are all my belongings. Who else can I give them to if not you?

Lin Suisui was momentarily stunned. Once she processed what he said, she replied, “But the furniture here isn’t fully set up yet. It’s not convenient to live here.”

“The beds are already in place, aren’t they? Is living at the dorm any more convenient?” Huo Changzheng countered.

“….” That actually made a lot of sense. At the dorm, she still had to share a room with him, but here, they could each have their own. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? She should’ve done this from the start.

“Alright.”

After agreeing, the two of them returned to the dorm to pack. The furniture in the dorm was government-issued, so they couldn’t take any of it. There wasn’t much left to move, and Huo Changzheng asked Fang Weiguo to bring over a jeep, so everything was moved in one trip.

After all the back-and-forth, Huo Changzheng had to return to the base. He had wanted to stay and help, but there were tasks that needed his attention, so he left first.

At home, aside from a storage cabinet, they didn’t yet have a wardrobe for clothes and bedding. Lin Suisui simply made up the beds and placed their clothes by the bedside for now. In a few days, she could store everything properly in a wardrobe.

Once she finished tidying up, it was time for her to head to work. She had originally planned to pick up Doubao, but since Huo Changzheng said he’d take care of that today, she was happy to have one less thing to do.

After an hour in the cafeteria, she carried a lunchbox and headed home. Out of habit, she started walking toward the dorms before realizing she had moved and turned around.

“Daddy, look! How did I do?” Just as she reached the door, she heard Doubao’s sweet, childish voice from inside.

She looked up and saw a sliver of warm light spilling from the crack beneath the door.

She had walked through the darkness, and now there was a place called “home” lit warmly, waiting for her return. For a moment, she felt dazed, as if the life she had always dreamed of was finally within reach.

“Not bad,” came Huo Changzheng’s voice from inside, as calm and cold as ever, snapping her right out of her reverie.

What was she daydreaming about? She was just a passerby in Huo Changzheng’s life. She’d better focus on registering for school and preparing for the new life with just her and Doubao after this year was over.

When she pushed the door open, she saw the big one and the little one each holding a hoe, loosening the soil.

“Mama! You’re back!” Doubao immediately dropped his little hoe and ran toward her.

Lin Suisui caught him and asked, “What were you and Daddy up to?”

“Daddy said we should make a garden so we can grow vegetables at home!” Doubao boasted proudly. “I helped too!”

“You’re such a good boy!” Lin Suisui said, kissing him on the cheek. Then she turned to call Huo Changzheng for dinner—only to see him staring at her intently.

She was a little puzzled. “Do I have something on my face?”

“I did way more work than Doubao,” Huo Changzheng said, clearly feeling wronged.

“….” Was this man seriously competing with a child?

Lin Suisui thought she must be imagining things, but his increasingly pitiful expression left her no choice. In the end, she gave him a thumbs-up and said, “Great job!”

With that, she ignored whatever odd mood he was in and carried Doubao back inside.

There were no tables or chairs at home yet, but Huo Changzheng had brought the dorm furniture over for now. Otherwise, the three of them would’ve had to squat to eat dinner.

After dinner, Huo Changzheng took the initiative to wash the dishes. When it came to dishwashing, he was surprisingly enthusiastic—Lin Suisui usually didn’t have to lift a finger.

“Doubao, play by yourself for a bit. Mommy’s going to the bathhouse to fetch two buckets of water to wash up,” she said.

Just then, Huo Changzheng chimed in, “I’ve already boiled water. Just mix it with some cold water and you’re good.”

“You boiled water?” Lin Suisui was surprised. “But we don’t have any firewood.”

“We do now,” Huo Changzheng replied. “There’s plenty in the woodshed outside. It should last until I get back from my mission.”

“Seriously?” Lin Suisui went to the woodshed to check, and sure enough, it was stacked halfway to the ceiling with firewood. Since she was working in the cafeteria and didn’t need to cook right now, this amount could easily last one to two months.

She had planned to ask Fang Qianqian the next day if there was a place nearby to collect or buy firewood. To find it all taken care of already—it honestly made her a little emotional.

“Thanks!” she said cheerfully as she returned inside.

Huo Changzheng shot her a look. “Why are you thanking me? It’s my house too.”

“….” Fair enough. Even if it was only for a year, he was indeed part of this household right now, and taking on chores was only natural.

For as long as she could remember—maybe since she was six or seven—housework had clung to her like a shadow. Even though she was used to it, it was still exhausting. Now that someone was helping her carry the burden, her mood noticeably lifted.

There was plenty of hot water—Huo Changzheng was used to bathing in cold water year-round—so the big pot of hot water was left entirely for her and Doubao.

After mixing warm water for Doubao, she let him wash inside the room. Lately, the little guy didn’t even want Mommy to see his private parts.

Once he was done, it was her turn. With so much hot water, she even washed her hair.

“Doubao, are you going to bed soon? Mommy has to wring her hair out, so I’ll be up a bit later,” Lin Suisui said. Just then, Huo Changzheng came in and asked, “Where did you put my suitcase?”

“In the room next door.” Earlier, he had taken a suitcase out of the wardrobe. Lin Suisui hadn’t dared open or organize it, so she simply left it in his room.

“Then come with me,” he said before turning and walking out.

Lin Suisui had no idea what he wanted, but followed him anyway.

“I’ll leave all of this with you to keep.” Huo Changzheng took out a tin box from his suitcase. Lin Suisui accepted it, puzzled. “What is it?”

“Open it and you’ll see.”

She followed his instructions and opened it, finding a bankbook and a small red cloth pouch inside.

“You want me to keep the bankbook?” Lin Suisui asked in disbelief.

“This is all I have. If I don’t give it to you, who else would I give it to?”

“…”
His words gave her a bit of pressure. Honestly, Huo Changzheng had never been stingy with her financially over the years, and she had her own little stash of savings too—that was her confidence if they ever got divorced. She liked money, but she wasn’t greedy. She couldn’t just take all his assets.

Seeing that she wasn’t reaching for the box, his expression darkened, and he shoved the tin box directly into her arms.

She had truly never seen someone get mad because you wouldn’t take their money. Lin Suisui didn’t argue with him anymore. Since he said it was just for safekeeping, she figured she’d return it after the divorce anyway.

“Alright, I’ll hold onto it for now.”

Only after seeing her accept the box did his expression ease a bit. “The money inside, use it however you like—you don’t need to ask me. Also, inside that small cloth pouch is a gold bracelet. It was left by my mother for her daughter-in-law, but it’s not appropriate to wear it nowadays. Just keep it safe.”

“…”

The way he was acting really did seem like he saw her as his wife. If it had been in the past, she would’ve been overjoyed and unable to sleep. But now, she only felt awkward, because she really didn’t want to help Song Xiao look after anything.

Oh well, it’s just a matter of putting it somewhere. The atmosphere in the compound was different from the countryside—she wasn’t afraid it would get stolen.

“I’ll find a place to store it. If you need it, just let me know anytime.”
After saying that, she walked out with the tin box.

By the time she returned to the small room, Doubao was already asleep in bed. She tucked him in, then continued drying her hair. Her hair was long and hard to manage, but she refused to cut it. She really liked her thick, straight black hair.

After a long while, her hair was finally dry. She went out to hang it, and just as she stepped out the door, she saw Huo Changzheng coming out from the room next door.

“Doubao’s asleep?”

“Yeah, he’s asleep. I’m getting ready to sleep too. You should rest early.”
As she spoke, she was about to leave when he suddenly asked, “Isn’t that single bed a bit cramped for the two of you?”

She figured he felt guilty for having the big bed to himself, so she quickly said, “Not cramped at all. You sleep in the big bed without worrying.”

“…”