Chapter 14: Grilled Lamb Chops

After returning to the family compound, Lin Momo began to work on rendering the pork fat, while Cheng Jinghao marinated the lamb chops before leaving the kitchen.

“Momo, I’m going to chop some firewood,” Cheng Jinghao’s voice came from the yard.

“Okay,” Lin Momo responded.

Not long after, Cheng Jinghao returned dragging two dry trees and began chopping the wood in the yard.

Lin Momo stepped out of the kitchen and unexpectedly saw Cheng Jinghao chopping wood with his shirt off, his muscles on full display as he swung the axe.

Lin Momo unconsciously swallowed and said, “Cheng Jinghao, it’s around 20 degrees Celsius, do you really need to go shirtless?”

“Just got a lot of energy,” Cheng Jinghao replied, his voice causing Lin Momo to feel a burst of energy herself. She quickly grabbed a small stool and sat in front of him.

“Cheng Jinghao, did you ever have a relationship in your past life?” Her voice was small, considering their compound was just a wall away from Zhao Zhigang’s house.

Cheng Jinghao stopped what he was doing and looked at her intently.

“If you were ever in a relationship, how could you still be here with me now? You’d have long forgotten about this childhood friend,” Lin Momo muttered to herself.

Cheng Jinghao let out a soft sigh. Since she’d already said it, what else could he say?

“Cheng Jinghao, are all soldiers built like this?” Lin Momo looked at his abs and couldn’t help but ask.

“What, you want to look at someone else?” Cheng Jinghao gave her a sharp look.

“I’m just asking. Imagine a whole line of soldiers with their abs exposed—ah, just thinking about it makes me shy.” Lin Momo covered her face, embarrassed.

“I think you’ve been watching too many toxic videos,” Cheng Jinghao said, already done chopping the wood.

He was about to tidy up and start cooking.

Lin Momo saw him about to leave and hurriedly followed behind him. However, as soon as he took two steps, he stopped abruptly and turned around, causing Lin Momo to crash right into his chest.

“Ah!”

“Are you okay?” Cheng Jinghao steadied her.

“Why did you stop? My nose hurts now,” Lin Momo rubbed her nose.

“I forgot to grab the axe,” Cheng Jinghao replied, speechless. He didn’t expect her to follow him so closely.

“You… you…” Lin Momo looked up and realized just how close he was to her, still shirtless.

Even though they had already been intimate the day before, the situation felt different now.

Because of their height difference, Lin Momo’s face was just a fist’s distance from Cheng Jinghao’s chest.

Cheng Jinghao smirked, his lips curling upward, knowing she was flustered.

“I’ll set up a grill in the yard. We’re grilling lamb chops. Can you bring out some cumin and chili powder?” Cheng Jinghao’s voice came from above her head.

“Okay,” Lin Momo finally snapped back to reality and stepped back.

“Is it okay to grill out here? What if someone smells it?” she asked.

“We went to the city today and bought lamb. It’s normal,” Cheng Jinghao explained.

Cheng Jinghao cleaned his hands after storing the firewood. Seeing Lin Momo still hadn’t moved, he walked over to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Lin Momo dodged into the space. She entered the first-floor living room and then realized she could’ve just grabbed the seasonings from there directly.

As she picked out the spices for grilling, she couldn’t help but think back to the earlier scene.

“Lin Momo, what are you even thinking about with Cheng Jinghao?” Lin Momo shook her head, trying to push the thoughts from her mind.

When she returned, Cheng Jinghao had set up the grill and was wearing a shirt now.

“Go wait in the room. I’ll call you when it’s done. It’s going to get chilly soon,” Cheng Jinghao said, looking at her.

“It’s fine, I’ll just put on a jacket. You must be so bored alone, let me keep you company for a bit.” Lin Momo said as she entered and came out wearing a coat.

Cheng Jinghao glanced at her but didn’t stop her.

When Lin Momo brought over a small stool and sat down beside him, he finally spoke.

“Momo, do you remember when we were kids, when we stole peaches from Aunt Zhang next door?”

“Mmm, I remember. We were probably about eight years old. You climbed the tree to pick them, then threw them down to me.” Lin Momo smiled sweetly, and it seemed like the scene from that time appeared before her eyes.

“Then Aunt Zhang came out, and you ran away, leaving me stuck in the tree. I ended up getting a good beating from my dad.” Cheng Jinghao chuckled.

“When we were kids, you were so loyal. You never betrayed me.” Lin Momo looked at Cheng Jinghao.

From a young age, Cheng Jinghao was the most mischievous boy in the courtyard, and she was the girl who understood him the most. In fact, even the adults didn’t know, all the plans were made by her, and all the mistakes were his.

Every time Cheng Jinghao got into trouble and was punished, he would argue with her, but he would never betray her.

“Do you remember that time in junior high? The boy sitting behind me pulled my hair in class, and I cried and complained to you. I remember, after school, you chased him around the playground several times and ended up beating him down.”

Lin Momo looked at him, remembering the time when she got her first period. They hadn’t had the lesson on it yet, and she couldn’t explain it to him. He had run to the infirmary on her behalf, causing a big laugh.

“In high school, you always threw away the love letters from boys and said that if I ever fell in love early, you’d tell my parents.”

“…” Cheng Jinghao listened while Lin Momo reminisced about their childhood memories, occasionally responding.

These memories felt like they were from a different world, yet also as though they had just happened yesterday.

“All done.” Cheng Jinghao used a small knife to cut off a lamb rib and handed it to Lin Momo.

“You eat first. I’m going to send a few ribs over to Old Zhao’s kids.” Cheng Jinghao cut two more pieces and placed them on a plate to take next door.

Lin Momo watched Cheng Jinghao’s back. The boy he had been in his youth was now gone, replaced by someone more calm and composed.

When the door to the house next door opened, it was Zhao Zhigang.

“I knew it was you the moment I smelled the roast lamb from your house.”

“Let the kids try some.” Cheng Jinghao handed the lamb ribs over, and just as he was about to turn around, Zhao Zhigang grabbed his arm.

“Just married and already eating meat.” Zhao Zhigang raised his eyebrows.

“Go away.” Cheng Jinghao pulled his arm back.

“Brother, you’ve been through it all, don’t be shy…”

Cheng Jinghao shot him a glare, and without looking back, walked off.

When Cheng Jinghao returned, Lin Momo saw him lock the courtyard gate. He then took out two cans of “Happy Fat House Water” from his space.

Cheng Jinghao smiled and walked over, opening a can for her.

“So good.” Lin Momo took a bite of the lamb ribs and drank the soda.

“Are you cold?” Cheng Jinghao checked her hands, then took off his military jacket from the room and draped it over her before sitting down beside her to eat.

“Tomorrow, I’ll turn over the soil in the backyard. The day after, I start training.” Cheng Jinghao didn’t look up.

Lin Momo looked at him. “Is the holiday over?”

“Mmm.”

“Then I’ll make dinner for you.”

“I’ll make breakfast and heat it for you when it’s ready, so you can sleep in. If you don’t want to cook, I’ll make it when I come back.” Cheng Jinghao said.

“Okay.” Lin Momo nodded. Since she had the space tool, if she was lazy, she could just take food from there.

Lin Momo didn’t ask Cheng Jinghao if the training was tough.

Later, she learned that Cheng Jinghao had become a special forces soldier. She had seen plenty of TV shows and read novels about this type of training.