CHAPTER 16

Lu Zhi turned at the sound.

Chen Yu was indeed quite good-looking. Otherwise, back then, no one would have introduced him to her. Even if some people were odd and wanted to introduce Lu Zhi to someone with poor conditions, the Lu family would never have agreed to such a meeting.

Her eldest brother, especially—he had a terrible temper when it came to his sister. He’d even gone so far as to fight someone over it.

But standing next to Zhou Cheng’an, Chen Yu instantly paled in comparison.

Chen Yu turned around, looking slightly dazed.

Lu Zhi made introductions, “Right, let me introduce—this is Zhou Cheng’an, my husband.”

Chen Yu had just started working at the island’s state-run restaurant, but he definitely knew who Zhou Cheng’an was.

This man—how many girls on the island liked him? Not only was he good-looking, but he was also extremely capable. If it weren’t for that perpetually cold face and stoic personality, there would have been girls throwing themselves at him every day.

Rumor had it that the last time he went to a leadership meeting-turned-social event, just his appearance made all the girls blush in unison.

Zhou Cheng’an asked, “And this is?”

Lu Zhi thought for a moment. “Passerby A?”

Chen Yu’s expression turned even uglier.

He admitted it—he had been hung up on Lu Zhi ever since their first meeting, when he was completely stunned by her. After that, he never stopped thinking about her, and deep down, he couldn’t let go.

But now Lu Zhi just casually brushed him off as “Passerby A”?

Zhou Cheng’an glanced over, like it was nothing, but his tone was cold. “Passerby A, huh? So, it’s Comrade Lu.”

Comrade Lu???

Lu Zhi couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. Chen Yu fled in embarrassment.

When she met Zhou Cheng’an’s gaze, Lu Zhi actually felt a little guilty.

But then she straightened up again. There was nothing to feel guilty about. It wasn’t like he was an ex—just an old blind date. A rejected one, at that.

She didn’t believe Zhou Cheng’an only ever had one blind date.

Lu Zhi laughed, “Comrade husband, Comrade Li Changyuan is still watching the show.”

Zhou Cheng’an’s expression softened. “I’ll go line up.”

Li Changyuan didn’t normally care about gossip—he had no interest in it. But if it was Zhou Cheng’an’s gossip? That was worth hearing.

“What just happened?”

“Who was that guy?”

“Come on, spill!”

Zhou Cheng’an remained calm. “She just called me Comrade Husband.”

That look in his eyes seemed to say, Has your wife ever called you that?

Li Changyuan: “……”

Ha. No, his wife had never called him that. But clearly, Zhou Cheng’an was becoming more and more of a peacock showing off his feathers.

Li Changyuan looked ahead. “Of course she has. Why wouldn’t she? Cheng’an, I’ve been married longer than you. My wife and I have been together for ages, right?”

Show off harder, will you?

Li Changyuan added, “When your sister-in-law and I met, we hit it off right away. We decided to get married after our first meeting too.”

Zhou Cheng’an: “Dumplings.”

Li Changyuan: “What?”

Zhou Cheng’an handed over his ticket and money. “I’ll have the chive and squid dumplings.”

Li Changyuan: “……”

He quickly got his own dumplings too.

Then, carrying two portions of dumplings, he headed home.

He had already told Chen Chunni he was bringing back chive and squid dumplings.

….

Lu Zhi looked at the dumplings in front of her, picked one up with her chopsticks, and took a bite.

Ah, no doubt—it was the seaside!

They shouldn’t even call these chive and squid dumplings—just call them squid dumplings.

There was so much squid inside, and hardly any chives. You could say the chives were just there to enhance the flavor. With one bite, the squid was tender, bouncy, and juicy.

Zhou Cheng’an said, “This is vinegar.”

Lu Zhi dipped the dumpling into the vinegar and took another bite. The sourness added a whole new dimension to the taste.

Mmmmmm!

It was so good.

Lu Zhi ate until she was absolutely stuffed.

Next time, she wanted to try making them herself.

Little Zhou Jun held a dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth in two bites, focused entirely on eating.

Lu Zhi noticed that the chubby little guy didn’t like dipping his dumplings in vinegar.

Then she looked at Zhou Cheng’an.

The two brothers clearly had different preferences—Zhou Cheng’an loved dipping his dumplings in vinegar.

The dumplings Lu Zhi and Zhou Jun couldn’t finish were given to Zhou Cheng’an. The two of them, one big and one small, just watched him clean up the rest.

Zhou Jun declared, “Sister-in-law loves dumplings. I’m going to learn how to make dumplings!”

Wow!

What a motivated little guy—hahaha!

After Zhou Cheng’an finished eating, he said, “I know how to make them.”

….

When Li Changyuan got home, he kept looking like he had something to say.

After dinner, Chen Chunni snapped, “Li Changyuan, I just asked you to bring back some dumplings. If it were Lu Zhi asking Zhou Cheng’an, he wouldn’t have acted like you did!”

Li Changyuan tried to defend himself, “They went to eat together today.”

Chen Chunni: “So what, are you saying I should go with you?”

Li Changyuan looked aggrieved, then straightened up and said seriously, “Well, Lu Zhi called Zhou Cheng’an Comrade Husband. Why don’t you call me that?”

Chen Chunni: “Comrade Husband, huh? I’ll start calling you that when you learn how to do the dishes.”

Wonderful—her man had taken one more step toward becoming a gentle and thoughtful husband.

But seriously… Comrade Husband? That was just too awkward to say to Li Changyuan.

….

Back at home, Lu Zhi took a shower.

It was just too hot. One trip outside and she’d be sweating all over again.

When she came out, Zhou Jun had already washed up on his own. He was sitting on the bed in a little tank top and shorts.

Lu Zhi gave his cheek a pinch and said, “Alright, time for a nap now.”

Hugging little chubby Zhou Jun, Lu Zhi breathed in his soft, milky scent and quickly fell asleep.

Feeling a bit warm, she rolled to the side and continued sleeping.

When Lu Yue arrived, Lu Zhi still hadn’t woken up. She called up a few times from downstairs, and Lu Zhi rubbed her eyes and climbed out of bed.

She opened the window and called down, “Second Sister, I’m upstairs.”

As she came down, she glanced at Zhou Jun beside her and couldn’t help but envy this little guy’s sleep quality—he hadn’t even woken up. His long lashes just trembled slightly.

Downstairs, Lu Yue said, “One of my classmates came to the island to be a sent-down youth.”

Lu Zhi nodded. “I know.”

Lu Yue continued, “I went with her to the youth resettlement site. Then on the way back—guess who I ran into?”

The only one who could get Lu Yue this worked up… could it be that Chen Yu she ranted about for months before?

In times like this, it was best to let Lu Yue spill the tea herself. After all, she was clearly excited.

Lu Zhi: “Who?”

Lu Yue: “Chen Yu! That blind date of yours, Chen Yu! I finally understand why Deputy Company Commander Chen rejected it!”

And just like that, Lu Zhi had to sit through more than an hour of Lu Yue ranting about Chen Yu.

“You didn’t like him, and he actually thought you were trying to use your looks to marry up!”

“A man like that—with thoughts like those—how could anyone marry him?”

“Back then, your big brother and I were so angry we couldn’t even eat!”

“And besides, our Zhi Zhi isn’t just pretty—she’s smart and kind! That kind of guy only knows how to look at appearances!”

Well. Someone’s confidence had clearly reached critical mass.

Lu Yue suddenly remembered Tuantuan. “I left him with Li Cuihua to watch for a bit. I should head back.”

….

Lu Zhi felt a little bored. Zhou Jun was still asleep. She sat by the bed and poked his chubby cheeks, then squeezed his pudgy little hands.

Kids really were fun.

Still, if he sleeps like this now, will he even be able to fall asleep at night?

Finally, Zhou Jun woke up, looking adorably dazed.

He swayed a little, like he was about to drift off again. “Sister-in-law…”

Lu Zhi said, “Come on, I’ll make you some spicy strips.”

Spicy strips!!!

Zhou Jun’s sleepy eyes instantly lit up like someone had turned on a beauty filter.

Lu Zhi: “Wow, you like spicy strips too?”

Zhou Jun: “Sister-in-law, what are spicy strips?”

You don’t even know what they are and you still triggered the full beauty filter?

Lu Zhi: “Spicy strips are spicy and super tasty snacks.”

In the kitchen, Lu Zhi started getting busy.

She really loved spicy strips.

Back then, she used beef tendon noodles to make them, but now she couldn’t get those, so she used a mix of rice and flour.

She rolled the dough flat with a rolling pin, then cut it into long strips, carefully pressing lines into them to make the signature shape.

Then she placed them in the steamer.

Zhou Jun stood on a little stool. “Is this the spicy strips?”

Lu Zhi: “Wait a bit. Once it’s steamed, we’ll pour the seasoning on and mix it.”

Since she didn’t have a lot of seasoning options right now, she could only make a simpler version—but she had plenty of chili powder!

At last, the spicy strips were ready.

To suit a child’s taste, Lu Zhi made two versions—one very spicy, and one mildly spicy.

She sprinkled the seasoning mix on the steamed strips, then poured hot oil over the top, instantly releasing a mouth-watering aroma.

Usually acting like a tough little man, Zhou Jun now couldn’t help himself—he was practically drooling.

Totally not a little tough guy now.

Just a snack-crazed little gremlin.

Lu Zhi tried one. Not bad—it had a nice chew to it too.

Hiss—

And wow, it was really spicy.

That dried chili was a great buy.

When Zhou Cheng’an came home, he saw Lu Zhi and Zhou Jun sitting in front of a big plate of… something he didn’t recognize.

Lu Zhi’s lips were bright red from the spice, but she was still eating.

Zhou Cheng’an’s Adam’s apple bobbed unconsciously.

Zhou Jun jumped up excitedly. “Big Brother, do you know what this is? It’s spicy strips! Sister-in-law made them for me!”

That’s right—she made them for him!

Zhou Jun: “Do you wanna try one?”

Zhou Cheng’an took off his jacket and walked over. He sat down and looked at the two different kinds of spicy strips, clearly made with different spice levels. He took one from Lu Zhi’s plate.

Lu Zhi watched him with a bit of anticipation.

Zhou Cheng’an took a bite.

Hiss—

It really was spicy.

Zhou Cheng’an: “Delicious.”

Zhou Jun: “Big Brother, it’s super delicious!”

Zhou Cheng’an: “Super, super delicious.”

Zhou Jun put his hands on his hips. “It’s super, super, super, super… delicious!”

Lu Zhi felt a bit giddy. Anyone watching might think her homemade spicy strips could launch a whole business in the future and send her straight to the top.

They kept eating. The spice was intense, but so was the flavor.

After eating so many spicy strips, Lu Zhi found she was a bit picky at dinner—she didn’t eat much.

Zhou Jun, on the other hand, used the spicy strips to polish off a whole bowl of rice.

Lu Zhi was a bit tempted now too.

Spicy strips with rice… might be amazing.