Chapter 29: Jealousy

Once Su Nianmei threw herself into something, she easily lost track of herself. After work, she began reading, even pulling out a small notebook to jot down English words and various formulas while eating.

Gu Xiaobao often moved a small stool next to Su Nianmei, leaning over the table and tilting his head as he watched her.

Each time he saw his mom looking at the lower right corner of the book, Gu Xiaobao would wait patiently. When he noticed Su Nianmei’s furrowed brow relax, he would immediately sit up straight and reach out with his chubby little hand to turn the page.

Then, the mother and son would exchange a smile.

After Gu Xichao returned home, the bedroom became his forbidden zone.

As soon as he pushed the door open and stepped inside, a little ball of flesh stealthily approached him from the bedroom, seemingly without a sound. Like a cannonball, it bumped its round little head against him, pushing him back outside.

Then Gu Xiaobao neatly shut the door and scurried back to his little stool.

Gu Xichao: “…”

Su Nianmei rubbed her eyes, finally finishing a difficult problem. She looked up at the clock, only to realize it was already past midnight.

Gu Xiaobao had gone back to his room to sleep at some point.

Su Nianmei stood up and walked outside. Gu Xiaobao’s room door was closed.

Gu Xichao lay on two chairs, resting his head on his hands, one leg curled up while the other dangled down.

He didn’t seem to be in a comfortable position.

The man in camouflage looked weary.

Su Nianmei soaked a towel in water and helped the man wipe his face.

Gu Xichao’s eyelashes fluttered.

In truth, he had already woken up the moment Su Nianmei opened the door.

He wanted to tease his wife.

When Su Nianmei noticed Gu Xichao’s furrowed brows, she gently stroked them with her hand, hoping to smooth away his worries.

The eyelashes that had fluttered came to a sudden stillness.

Gu Xichao was waiting for his wife’s next surprise.

After a while, there was still no movement.

He quietly opened a slit in his eyes.

Su Nianmei was walking out of the bedroom, holding a blanket.

He quickly shut his eyes again.

Su Nianmei tiptoed to Gu Xichao’s side and covered him with the blanket.

She bent down to lift the man’s dangling leg, preparing to raise it onto the chair.

The man frowned slightly and mumbled in his sleep.

His eyelashes twitched rhythmically a few times before slowly opening.

When Su Nianmei and Gu Xichao’s eyes met, she immediately let go, and with a “thud,” the leg she had just lifted fell to the ground.

Su Nianmei felt a bit embarrassed.

Gu Xichao looked at her, his lips curving upward as he revealed two small, sharp tiger teeth. “Wife, are you done with your work?”

His voice was still half-asleep, slurred yet magnetic, carrying the lingering warmth of just waking up.

Su Nianmei felt a rush of warmth in her ears.

He then glanced down at the blanket, a smile in his voice. “Amei, would you really let me sleep here all night?”

Su Nianmei intended to explain that she covered him with a blanket because she feared disturbing his rest. However, upon seeing Gu Xichao’s playful demeanor, a sense of irritation inexplicably bubbled up within her. As she spoke, her words turned into, “Aren’t you soldiers trained to sleep in the wild? How could you not endure such hardship? What’s there for me to hold back?”

Gu Xichao observed his little wife’s contradictory expressions, and his eyes brightened a little. Su Nianmei, still childlike at heart, wore her emotions on her face and couldn’t hide them.

He immediately took advantage of the moment, stood up, and headed back to the bedroom, holding the blanket. “I can endure hardships but can’t bear to part with my wife.”

Su Nianmei felt embarrassed and reached out to tug at Gu Xichao’s shirt corner. “You haven’t washed up yet; you can’t sleep.”

Gu Xichao pouted and sniffed his face, which his wife had just wiped. It seemed to carry a trace of her scent, soft and sweet.

He took a hearty sniff and leaned closer to Su Nianmei.

A clean and refreshing scent hit her face.

Su Nianmei then heard the shameless man continue, “I think I smell pretty good. If you don’t believe me, wife, you can have a sniff.”

Then, there was another “smack” as Major Gu’s arm was playfully swatted.

Gu Xichao thought that his wife’s recent habit of hitting him whenever they had a disagreement was quite bad, even though it felt like a cat’s scratch.

Once Su Nianmei got up, she dove into studying, starting her morning with memorizing English vocabulary.

Through these days of learning, Su Nianmei had a general understanding of the entire knowledge system. She had developed a habit during her previous studies of first grasping the knowledge framework, building the overall structure, and then gradually filling it in, like constructing a house and addressing gaps and deficiencies along the way.

The overall framework was already in place, but she still didn’t quite understand some vague concepts. She wrote them down in her notebook to discuss with Qin Huai over the weekend.

The young man was still the same as before, carrying a small bamboo basket—half filled with medicine and half with books.

When he explained problems to Su Nianmei, he always liked to push up his glasses.

He was able to explain the key points of the question in the most precise and straightforward way, analyzing each part thoroughly.

Su Nianmei noticed that although Qin Huai was young and appeared gentle and harmless on the outside, he was, in fact, quite astute on the inside.

After resolving Su Nianmei’s doubts, the eager young man continued to discuss other questions with her earnestly.

Currently, Su Nianmei has only managed to recall about forty percent of her high school knowledge, and sometimes she struggles to keep up with his questions. However, their back-and-forth conversations also allowed her to learn a great deal.

Qin Huai’s family was financially strained. He and his mother relied on each other for survival, making a living by selling medicinal herbs. His mother came from a line of barefoot doctors, and by her generation, only the skills of herb identification and medicine preparation remained.

Qin Huai’s mother was also in poor health and often plagued by various ailments, which placed a large part of the burden of supporting the family on Qin Huai’s shoulders.

The fact that this young man, despite living in such harsh conditions, could still study diligently and prepare for college exams made Su Nianmei regard him with a newfound respect.

During a casual conversation, Su Nianmei suddenly asked, “Do you deliver medicine to people every day?”

Qin Huai was momentarily taken aback. “Not delivering medicine. Every morning, I carry medicine to the marketplace to sell. Whatever I can earn helps.”

He gave a slight, self-deprecating smile. “These medicines in the basket are just leftovers that didn’t sell.”

Su Nianmei glanced over and saw that, aside from the space occupied by books, the basket was packed full of herbal plasters.

Qin Huai chuckled, “These medicinal plasters almost never sell. I can only sell some cheaper herbs. The production cost for these plasters is high, so the price is a bit higher. Even if they want to buy it, ordinary families can’t bring themselves to do it. But sometimes, if I happen to meet a big customer, I can earn quite a bit.”

Su Nianmei observed that the plasters were stored in large containers and said, “Couldn’t you pack them in smaller quantities, selling them in tiny bottles?”

Qin Huai gave a bitter smile. “It’s not like I haven’t tried before. People here are too used to being frugal. Even if the price or quantity is lowered, they still think this is a luxury item. If you try to sell it cheaply, they think it must be fake, and they’re even less willing to buy it.”

Su Nianmei thought this was indeed true. She pursed her lips, deep in thought for a long time, then took out a pen and began writing and sketching on a piece of paper. Finally, she produced a simple plan and handed it over to Qin Huai.

Initially, Qin Huai didn’t pay much attention to it, but as he looked over it carefully, he gradually found it more and more reasonable.

When Su Nianmei and Qin Huai were together, they discussed academics and the methods of managing his herbal medicine sales. Qin Huai had a remarkable ability to learn, always absorbing new knowledge with enthusiasm, and he could swiftly apply what he learned to new situations.

After implementing the new plan—which included distributing small sample portions of the medicine for free and promoting it through the local barefoot doctors—, the results were impressive.

Qin Huai’s financial struggles eased slightly, and he began to appear brighter and more hopeful.

However, his mother’s health continued to deteriorate; she was growing thinner, and her condition seemed to be worsening.

Recently, Su Nianmei had become increasingly close with Qin Huai, which left Gu Xichao feeling somewhat sullen.

Gu Xichao had recently taken the time to do push-ups at home. When Su Nianmei returned, she often found him full of sweat from his exercise.

Su Nianmei would sit on a chair, holding little Gu Xiaobao on her lap, reciting English vocabulary as she did so.

After watching her for a while, Gu Xichao noticed that his young wife wasn’t reacting to him at all. He got up and slung a towel around his neck but didn’t bother wiping the sweat. Instead, he went to the kitchen and brought back two tangerines, offering them to Su Nianmei.

She chose the smaller one, peeling it open and sharing it with Gu Xiaobao, giving him one segment at a time.

Watching the two of them enjoying the fruit together so happily, Gu Xichao narrowed his eyes, squeezing the larger tangerine in his hand with a hint of frustration.

—o—o—o—

Later that evening, when Su Nianmei entered the bedroom, Gu Xichao peeled the large tangerine and held it carefully in his palm as though he were holding a delicate flower.

Fresh from his workout, he wore only a tank top, and his muscular physique was on display. Unlike a boy’s slender frame, his body had a certain aesthetic appeal and visual impact.

Su Nianmei’s heart skipped a beat, quickening its pace.

Gu Xichao walked up to her and, with a serious expression, said, “Open up.”

She opened her mouth, and he fed her a piece of the tangerine.

Then he asked, “So, do you think this big tangerine tastes better or the small one from earlier?”

Su Nianmei was a bit confused. “Are you thinking of switching careers to grow tangerines now?”

Without answering, he fed her another segment.

Gu Xichao’s gaze grew intense, unreadable, as he continued to watch her.

Su Nianmei deliberately took her time, savoring the flavor with a thoughtful expression, nodding slightly in approval.

Gu Xichao kept his eyes fixed on her, his stance almost like a soldier’s salute, exuding an unwavering focus.

She honestly didn’t feel much difference between the two tangerines, yet under Gu Xichao’s gaze, she felt an odd sense of pressure, as if some heavy responsibility rested on her shoulders.

She took another segment, placed it in her mouth, and gave it a slow, careful taste.

Finally, she softly answered, “I don’t really notice any difference.”

Gu Xichao leaned closer. “Then why did you choose the smaller tangerine today?”

Su Nianmei froze and replied casually, “I felt the smaller tangerine might be sweeter. You know, essence in a small package, right?”

For some reason, the room suddenly felt a bit colder. She added quickly, “The big tangerine might just be large on the outside but lacking in juice.”

Gu Xichao gave no response whatsoever, instead continuing to peel the tangerine and swallowing a piece without a word.

Watching his reaction, Su Nianmei suddenly realized something. She walked up to him and tried to pick up a piece of tangerine, but Gu Xichao smoothly lifted his hand, blocking her attempt.

“Actually, on second thought, I believe the big tangerine tastes better!” she declared.

Gu Xichao shot back, “Didn’t you say it’s just big with no substance?”

Su Nianmei quickly replied, “But it’s full and satisfying! The small tangerine is too sweet—it’s not good for the teeth!”

Gu Xichao’s expression softened a little.

Then Su Nianmei threw another “bomb” his way. “Brother Gu, you’re really adorable!”

A faint blush crept over the tips of Gu Xichao’s ears.

He broke off another piece of the tangerine and offered it to her. “Here, eat.”