Chapter 18: Baoni Shows Her Strength During Morning Exercise

Before dawn, Gu Ye’s biological clock automatically reminded him that it was time for morning exercise.

“You can sleep a little longer, I’ll go for my morning exercise.” Gu Ye said as he noticed Baoni had also opened her eyes. It was still dark outside.

“I’ll go work out too, to strengthen my body.” Baoni’s biological clock had also awakened, a habit formed over many years that she couldn’t shake off.

The two of them got dressed, opened the courtyard gate, and ran towards the seaside.

At first, Gu Ye slowed his pace, worried that Baoni wouldn’t be able to keep up.

To his surprise, Lin Baoni was quite impressive. She didn’t fall behind even a step, and her breathing remained steady, as though she had trained before.

Before long, they arrived at Gu Ye’s usual morning exercise spot. “Have you trained before?” Gu Ye asked, puzzled.

“There’s a retired soldier in our team. When I was young, he taught me some things, and I’ve kept up with the training myself.” Baoni replied. It was the truth. The neighbor near the Lin family’s house had been discharged from the army due to injury. Seeing Baoni’s strength, he had taught her some techniques and moves.

After Baoni woke up from saving someone, she had practiced the techniques she learned, using the memory of them, and combined them with the sanda and free combat she had learned before. Surprisingly, the result was good.

“Gu Ye, let’s practice together.” Baoni said, starting to warm up. It had been a long time since she last sparred, and her hands were itching.

“You?” Gu Ye was a bit skeptical.

Baoni had a big appetite, and it was said she had great strength, but he was still one of the best in their team, and even on the entire island. His courage was commendable!

“Don’t underestimate me. You never know who will win in the end!” Baoni wasn’t someone who was easily intimidated. Practicing like this used to be a regular occurrence for her.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” Gu Ye said, his fighting spirit stirred, and began warming up as well.

At first, they cautiously tested each other, but after a while, they had a sense of each other’s abilities, and they started to get serious.

Gu Ye had rich combat experience and could predict movements accurately.

Baoni, with her great strength and a combination of various techniques, wasn’t weak either.

The two of them exchanged moves, neither gaining an advantage over the other.

Gu Ye hadn’t expected Lin Baoni to be so strong. Her power was astonishing, and if it came to pure strength, he wouldn’t be her match.

What’s more, her techniques seemed unstructured, yet they were executed perfectly, defying categorization into any specific martial art style.

Another kick, and both of them fell backward, landing on the sand.

It felt so satisfying. It had been a long time since she had such a good time. Baoni lay on her back, gazing at the sky, and thought about old Jiang.

“Are you okay?” Gu Ye hurried over and leaned down, looking at Lin Baoni, who was lying still, his voice full of concern.

“I’m fine. It’s just that I haven’t practiced like this in a long time. I need to rest for a bit.” Baoni smiled, her eyes sparkling with confidence.

“Did you learn all of this from the retired soldier?” Gu Ye lay down beside Baoni and asked about the veteran.

“Most of it. Some of it I figured out on my own while fighting others.” Lin Baoni didn’t hide anything, admitting that she had been undefeated across the island since she was young.

It was only in the last two years that, as she got older, her grandmother forbade her from fighting boys.

“That’s quite impressive!” Gu Ye hadn’t expected her to be such a skilled fighter. She didn’t look it at all—her appearance was very deceiving.

“It’s not dishonorable either!” Baoni felt proud of what she had done.

Time had passed quickly, and it was getting late. The two of them got up and headed home—it was time for breakfast, and Baoni’s stomach was growling.

When they returned from the beach early in the morning, they drew a lot of attention. People couldn’t help but wonder what the couple had been up to so early.

After eating their fill, Baoni couldn’t wait to go back to her parents’ house.

She had been away for two days and wasn’t sure if anyone had missed her.

——

Carrying the return gift, Baoni sat on the bicycle ridden by Gu Ye. This was the ladies’ bicycle Baoni had wanted, size 26, which fit her just right, while Gu Ye’s legs were a bit cramped.

“Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Baoni’s back!”

As soon as they entered the village, Baoni couldn’t hold back and shouted, wondering if her grandma could hear her.

The elderly people sitting by the door looked at the lively Baoni and smiled, revealing their toothless gums.

“Baoni, you’re back!” Grandma heard the noise and came out to greet her, with Mother Lin following. The rest of the family had already gone to work.

Baoni jumped off the bike from behind and ran toward her grandmother.

Is it really necessary to make such a dramatic entrance? It’s only been two days since we last saw each other. Baoni thought to herself.

Mother Lin shook her head and greeted Gu Ye, who had followed behind.

“Gu Ye, come in, come in.” Mother Lin said, pleased to see the energetic Gu Ye.

After Baoni had her fill of affection with her grandmother, she remembered Gu Ye.

“Grandma, Gu Ye said he wants to learn how to cook from you. You must teach him well. The food in the canteen is far from good. Look at me—haven’t I lost weight?” Baoni hoped that Gu Ye had a knack for cooking, so they wouldn’t have to eat canteen food every day.

“This child! How can you let little Gu learn to cook? He’s so tired from training every day!” In Mother Lin’s mindset, how could a man be allowed in the kitchen?

In the Lin family, none of the men from the three generations knew how to cook, and no one ever went into the kitchen.

“Why not? If I can’t learn, our children will have to eat canteen food too.” Lin Baoni said, without a hint of embarrassment or hesitation.

“That, that…” Gu Ye struggled for a long time, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words “Mother” or “Mom.”

“This, well, our custom here is to call her ‘Mother’ or ‘Mom.’ You should get used to it.” Lin Baoni noticed Gu Ye’s discomfort.

She understood, and since they were going to be close in the future, there was no avoiding it. It wouldn’t do to remain awkward like this.

“Mother, it’s fine. I’ll try and maybe I have a natural talent for it!” Gu Ye finally managed to speak out, addressing Mother Lin, as Baoni had instructed him.

“Alright then, as long as you two have come to an agreement.” Mother Lin said, not about to force her son-in-law to avoid the kitchen.

There was still some time before they would start cooking, so Lin Baoni took Gu Ye to see her bedroom.

The bedroom was small, but it was clear that Baoni was well-loved in the family. It was decorated in a very Wen Xin style, neat and tidy.

“Let’s go see the seaweed house!”

“This house was built by my great-grandfather’s father. The people of the Lin Family have always been taught to build houses since we were little. We learn hands-on.” Lin Baoni said proudly.

“That’s impressive! It must have been hard to build with seaweed, right?” Gu Ye thought it must be like an art form, requiring a certain level of skill.

“Mm.”

By midday, Grandma started cooking, and Baoni helped with the vegetable prep and other preparations.

Baoni was good at most things, including chopping vegetables very finely, but when it came to seasoning, she often made strange-tasting dishes.

Gu Ye observed Grandma’s steps and didn’t find them difficult.

The seasonings were few, and the steps were almost the same each time. As long as the quantities were correct, it would be fine.

For the second dish, Gu Ye started to cook himself, and it seemed to be going well. He wasn’t rushing or panicking.

“Try it. How does it taste?” Once the dish was ready, Gu Ye picked up a piece with his chopsticks and gave it to Baoni to taste.

“Hmm, it tastes good! I knew you had a talent for this!” Baoni swallowed the food in her mouth and praised loudly. She wasn’t just flattering him; it was genuinely good!

Grandma also tasted it and nodded: “Mm, not bad.”

Gu Ye was full of confidence. Under Grandma’s guidance, he started cooking, and before long, a whole table of dishes was ready.

When Grandpa and the others returned, they were surprised to hear that Gu Ye had cooked the dishes.

At dinner, Gu Ye had a drink with Grandpa Lin and the others, though he couldn’t drink too much as there might be an emergency gathering later in the evening.

However, Gu Ye really did have a talent for cooking. There was no denying it.

Once they were full and satisfied, Baoni and Gu Ye left the Lin Family home and returned to the Military Unit Family Residential Compound.

Baoni officially began her life in the Family Residential Compound. How would it go? No one knew.

—