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Is it gone?
“Achoo!” Before he could finish speaking, Li Xia sneezed.
Her hair was still damp from washing, and Gu Weicheng immediately said, “Your hair isn’t dry yet. Let me dry it for you—otherwise, you might catch a cold.”
At that time, there were no hair dryers; hair had to be dried with a towel.
Li Xia had long, thick hair, making the drying process quite a task. Sometimes, it took up to half an hour to get it completely dry. With Gu Weicheng helping, she could free up her hands, so of course, she wouldn’t refuse.
The Gu family’s house was separated from the Ma family’s by just a courtyard wall. As Sister-in-law Tao came out to pour bathwater for the children, she happened to see Gu Weicheng drying Li Xia’s hair.
Li Xia was sitting on a stool while Gu Weicheng stood behind her, attentively drying her hair. Such a thoughtful man.
…
Sister-in-law Tao thought about her husband, Old Ma—after drinking, he would just slump on the sofa, snoring like thunder. Even now, after waking up, he didn’t bother to help with anything.
Seeing how attentive Gu Weicheng was to Li Xia, Sister-in-law Tao suddenly wanted to test her own husband.
After a moment’s thought, she cleared her throat, deliberately softening her voice as she called inside, “Old Ma, come out for a moment and help me pour the water. I can’t lift it!”
Hearing this, Commander Ma felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
Stepping out, he glanced at the bucket, then reached out to feel Sister-in-law Tao’s forehead, puzzled. “You don’t have a fever.”
Sister-in-law Tao, furious, smacked his hand away and scolded, “Ma Guoqiang, who are you calling sick? You’re the one with a fever!”
Commander Ma said, “So today, you suddenly can’t lift half a bucket of water? Normally, you don’t even complain when carrying a full one. If this isn’t a fever, then what is it?”
Sister-in-law Tao rolled her eyes dramatically, muttered ‘wasting my breath on a bull,’ and picked up the bucket with ease, striding away briskly.
Commander Ma watched her back and mumbled, “Didn’t she just carry it just fine? Then why call me out?”
Without turning her head, Sister-in-law Tao snapped, “Just get lost!”
The commotion in the courtyard was loud enough for any household nearby to hear.
Gu Weicheng and Li Xia, who were next door, caught every word of the playful bickering between Sister-in-law Tao and Commander Ma.
Li Xia chuckled and said, “Commander Ma really doesn’t understand romance. Sister-in-law Tao must be fuming right now.”
Gu Weicheng found it a bit strange. In the past, he had been just like Commander Ma—completely clueless about women’s thoughts, let alone how to take care of someone properly.
But ever since Li Xia came into his life, he realized that some things didn’t need to be taught. As long as he kept her in his heart, everything naturally fell into place.
He felt lucky that he had figured things out faster than Commander Ma. Otherwise, the one being told to ‘get lost’ right now would have been him.
Once Li Xia’s hair was dry, the two of them returned to the bedroom.
As soon as An An saw them, he excitedly ran over and said, “Mommy, Mommy! I saw a riddle in my book, but there are some words I don’t know. Can you read it for me? I’ll try to guess the answer!”
“Alright, let me take a look.” Li Xia glanced at the book and pointed at the riddle. “Is this the one?
‘Its mouth is like a little shovel,
Its feet are shaped like small fans,
It waddles side to side when it walks,
And glides like a boat upon the water.’
Can you guess what animal this is?”
An An recognized some characters, but not many. In this riddle, he could only read a few simple ones, like ‘small,’ ‘child,’ ‘left and right,’ ‘water,’ and ‘on.’
“Its mouth is like a little shovel… its feet are like small fans…” An An propped his chin up with both hands, thinking hard.
After a moment, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, “Mommy, is it a duck? A duck’s beak is flat like a little shovel, its feet look like fans, it waddles when it walks, and it can swim too!”
“Yes! That’s right, it’s a duck! My little darling is so smart!” Li Xia didn’t hold back her praise.
She leaned down and gently kiss An An’s soft cheek.
Ever since the first time Li Xia kissed him, An An no longer reacted with shock. But he was still just as happy.
Mommy called him smart, called him her darling, and even kissed him!
Next time, he definitely wanted to play riddles with Mommy again!
Gu Weicheng watched his wife and son in front of him, especially his son, who was grinning wide, showing his snowy white teeth after being kissed by his mother.
Li Xia looked up at him, blinking in confusion. “What’s the serious problem?”
Gu Weicheng stared at her, his dark eyes deep and unreadable. After a brief pause, he finally spoke. “You’re biased.”
Li Xia was stunned for a moment. “Huh?”
Gu Weicheng narrowed his eyes slightly. “You kissed An An, but you didn’t kiss me.”
Li Xia: “…”
So, this was the serious problem?
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “That’s different. An An is a child.”
Gu Weicheng didn’t back down. “I’m your husband.”
His tone was calm, but there was an underlying grievance, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
Li Xia felt like she was coaxing another child. She sighed helplessly, then reached out and gently patted his face. “Alright, alright, you’re also my darling. Now go to sleep.”
But Gu Weicheng wasn’t satisfied with just a pat. He remained in place, gazing at her intently, his meaning obvious.
Li Xia didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. She looked at Gu Weicheng’s face—tall, imposing, and usually serious—yet at this moment, he was acting so aggrieved, as if he had suffered some great injustice.
With a helpless chuckle, she said, “Alright, alright, I was wrong. Next time, I’ll make sure to treat you fairly.”
Gu Weicheng remained unmoved. “Just next time?”
Li Xia raised an eyebrow. “Then what do you want?”
Gu Weicheng didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he lowered his head, moving closer until their noses nearly touched. His voice was low and magnetic as he said, “I want equal treatment.”
Li Xia’s heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly realized that this man, despite being an esteemed regimental commander in the army, could also be completely unreasonable when it came to matters of the heart.
She had barely brushed a quick kiss on Gu Weicheng’s cheek when he spoke again.
“Not enough,” he said firmly.
Li Xia’s heart pounded wildly, as if a thousand butterflies were flapping their wings in her chest.
“Not enough?” she echoed, her voice unconsciously lowering.
Where exactly was it not enough?
Could it be that Gu Weicheng wanted…
Her thoughts ran astray, and her cheeks burned.
Actually… it wasn’t that she was unwilling.
Li Xia was willing.
But still, she couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.
If Gu Weicheng really asked, she figured she would probably agree.
Just as her mind was running wild, she heard him say—
“You also called An An ‘baby.’ You should call me that too.”
Li Xia: “……Baby.”
This was the first time in Gu Weicheng’s life that someone had ever called him ‘baby.’
The corners of his lips curled up uncontrollably. He gazed at Li Xia with a deep tenderness, his voice low and husky.
“Li Xia, you’re my baby too.”
He had used her full name because that made it feel more official.
After saying this, Gu Weicheng carefully climbed over An An and returned to his side of the bed.
Then, he turned off the bedside lamp.
“Sleep early.”
An An was already over four years old. Next time, Gu Weicheng needed to find an opportunity to have An An sleep in his own little room.
Was that it?
Li Xia stared at Gu Weicheng, her heart nearly leaping into her throat the moment he called her ‘baby.’
Only one thought filled her mind—seduction.
Gu Weicheng was definitely seducing her!
She had thought something would happen. Though she couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous and afraid, there was also… anticipation.
But then, Gu Weicheng just turned off the light and went to sleep…
Could it be that after she rejected him once before, he didn’t dare act that way toward her again?
Then next time… should she take the initiative?