Chapter 4

Gu Huai swallowed in surprise.
“You… cook?”

“Mm, that’s right!” He Bingning replied, both playful and confident. “Let me show off a little!”

In Gu Huai’s impression, He Bingning couldn’t cook at all. In fact, not just cooking—she basically didn’t know how to do any housework.

“Maybe we should just eat at the mess hall today,” Gu Huai said cautiously. “Careful not to hurt yourself.”

For someone who didn’t know how to cook, insisting on cooking usually meant the kitchen was in danger of exploding.

He Bingning rolled her eyes mischievously and laughed. “How could I possibly hurt myself? I really do know how to cook now!”

In her previous life, after leaving Gu Huai, He Bingning was deceived and ruined by a scumbag. When she had to live alone, she gradually learned how to cook and do housework, only for it all to be in vain—she still died miserably in the end.

After enduring so much suffering, she finally understood how to cherish the one in front of her.

The price had been too steep. She would never allow that tragedy to repeat itself.

“Anyway, just trust me!” She placed her small hands on her hips, striking the pose of a head chef.

Gu Huai knew very well: when his wife decided to be willful, there was no stopping her. He could only go along with it.

Gu Huai’s salary wasn’t small, and he lived frugally. So even in the 1980s, they had managed to buy a refrigerator—a green, old-style little fridge. Nowadays it looked a bit outdated, but back then it was a trendy luxury, something others might be rich enough to buy but too reluctant to spend on.

He Bingning eagerly trotted over to open it. This was her first time opening the fridge. Inside, there weren’t any fresh vegetables, but there were a few ribbonfish.

“There’s no time to go buy vegetables now, so I’ll make these instead.” She lifted the fish and asked sweetly, “Do you like them fried, pan-seared, or braised?”

Gu Huai thought for a moment. “Braised. Braised is safer.”

He Bingning stomped her foot playfully. “You still don’t trust me~”

“No, no,” Gu Huai quickly explained. “I love braised fish, I do. That’s all I meant.”

Only then did she hum in satisfaction. “When I’m done, you’d better eat a lot.”

“Of course.” Gu Huai carried the fish for her, scooped some rice into a bowl, and said to himself, “This should be enough, right?”

He Bingning leaned over for a look. “Add a bit more. You work so hard every day, of course you should eat more.”

Gu Huai chuckled and added another bowlful, thinking to himself: his wife might look spoiled and willful, but in truth she was very considerate.

He shouldn’t listen to idle gossip. How could outsiders possibly understand her goodness?

The two children were already asleep. The young couple, carrying the fish and rice, headed to the shared kitchen. Not only were the pots and pans communal, but so were seasonings like scallions, ginger, and garlic.

That was a feature of the military compound: on the surface, every family lived separately, but in many ways, it was like one big household. Of course, that didn’t stop little schemes and rumors from spreading.

In the 1980s, there was no piped gas. The compound used gas cylinders. For those who knew how, it was nothing; for those who didn’t, it could be a little frightening.

He Bingning stared at the gas tank in a daze. She remembered the darkest years of her past life—she had even thought of using gas to commit suicide. She hadn’t succeeded, merely dragging herself along for a few years until she finally died of illness alone in that house.

It had all been like one long, heavy dream…

And now she was awake.

Things were so good now—her officer husband, her adorable children…

And loving family members, her doting grandfather. Everything was perfect.

“Bingning, what are you doing?”

Seeing her stand frozen, Gu Huai called out.

“Oh, I was just thinking of testing whether this stove works.” she replied.

Gu Huai chuckled. “That’s what I mean—you, a delicate little lady, how could you know how to open a gas tank? Let me do it.”

He Bingning pouted sweetly. “You’re still calling me a little girl? I’m already your wife, and I’ve given birth to two children. I’m hardly a little girl anymore.”

In the local dialect, “little girl” referred to an unmarried young woman.

Clearly, that didn’t apply to her anymore. She knew that.

But Gu Huai, not one for flowery words, only answered seriously, sincerely: “It’s different. In my heart, you’ll always be a little girl.”

“Oh really~” She reached out and tapped his nose. “Well, in my heart, you’ll always be that young fellow too.”

Gu Huai was helpless before her teasing and could only mutter, “I’ll open the gas tank now.”

“I want to learn!” He Bingning said excitedly.

She felt she was smart—if she wanted to learn something, there was nothing she couldn’t master.

It was just a gas cylinder.

How could that possibly be some great unsolvable mystery?

And even if it were, she’d solve it!

“Doesn’t matter if you learn or not, you’ve got me anyway,” Gu Huai grumbled.

He was a man—what did he need his little wife to do?

“I know~” She placed her hand gently over his as he twisted the valve. “But I want to be able to cook too, so that when my officer husband comes home, there’s food waiting for him~”

The sweetest tone, the softest words.

Gu Huai nearly melted on the spot.

There were only two things in this world that demanded absolute loyalty:

One was the nation. The other was his wife.

With a firm twist, the gas was on.

With a “whoosh!” a flame leapt out.

“Ah!” He Bingning jumped in fright.

It was her first time so close to a stove’s fire.

Gu Huai quickly pulled her into his arms. “Don’t be scared. It’s fine.”

“I’m not scared at all!” she insisted, then flashed him a sweet smile. “Why worry? Your little girl has already grown up~”

Gu Huai looked at her and asked, “When did you grow up, then?”

He Bingning decided to tease him. “On our wedding night. You helped me grow up—you deserve a military medal for it~”

Her words left Gu Huai stammering, blushing. “W-what kind of talk is that? Nonsense, just nonsense.”

She stuck out her tongue, finding her straightforward, honest husband rather cute.

How could she not love him, if she only opened her heart to him?

She poured oil into the wok. As soon as it heated, it began to sizzle and splatter.

“Cough, cough!” She was choked by the smoke.

Gu Huai lifted his sleeve to shield her.

But she gently pushed his arm aside, smiling. “It’s just a little smoke, nothing.”

Then she tossed the fish straight in, grabbed the spatula, quickly flipped it, and added the seasonings.

After that, she poured in half a pot of water.

The moment the water hit, the smoke lessened considerably.

Taking advantage of the pause, she turned and planted a kiss on Gu Huai.

It left him completely stunned.