Chapter 31: I’m Not That Childish

Gu Qiangwei wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want to overthink it. Now that farmland had appeared in the space, she might as well make good use of it.

In her past life, she had studied this plot of land.

It could cultivate itself automatically. All she had to do was place the seeds on a mechanism next to the field, and it would automatically plant and water them. After that, all she had to do was wait for the harvest.

The Lunar New Year was nearly over. Once it was, she’d go buy seeds.

Whatever changes came later, she’d deal with them then.

In the blink of an eye, it was the sixth day of the new year. On the eighth, Su Qingyi would be heading back to the army. So there weren’t many days left.

He took Gu Qiangwei and Su Qingshuang for a run again to check on their progress, then helped them set some goals moving forward.

They needed to keep jogging regularly to build endurance, and then learn some basic self-defense techniques.

“Quick, ruthless, and accurate—the best move is to go for a man’s weak spot!”

“That’s the most effective way to protect yourself.”

Su Qingyi didn’t beat around the bush with his advice. Su Qingshuang and Gu Qiangwei were stunned for a few seconds before they both struggled to hold back their laughter.

Even though they agreed, hearing Su Qingyi say it so bluntly felt a little… intense.

“The people trying to hurt you will usually be men. So this method is the most useful. Just be extra cautious. Practice the moves I taught you over and over.”

Since he would be leaving soon, Su Qingyi helped set a few small goals for his sister and Gu Qiangwei and made sure to teach them all the self-defense moves he knew.

As long as they kept practicing, there wouldn’t be any problems in the future.

During the New Year holidays, Su Qingyi’s family didn’t go visiting relatives. Everything was quiet and peaceful.

On the evening of the sixth day, after dinner, Gu Qiangwei and Su Qingshuang went out for a walk. They happened to see some children in the courtyard playing with fireworks.

The sparklers fizzed and lit up the night, and the children giggled and laughed as they ran around.

Gu Qiangwei suddenly remembered that in her past life, she had taken the time to visit Su Qingshuang’s father and had also come out with her to watch kids play with fireworks. Eventually, they even joined in.

Caught up in the nostalgia, she decided they should light fireworks too.

There was a shop selling them nearby, so the two of them bought some and joined the fun.

Once lit, the fireworks sparkled beautifully. Though the brilliance only lasted a moment, they were both having a great time.

The kids around them squealed excitedly, and their own laughter joined in. Hearing their loud voices, the children stopped and looked over at them in confusion.

Weren’t these two adults?

Why were they shrieking like kids?

Su Qingshuang looked a little embarrassed, but Gu Qiangwei grabbed her arm and said, “What are you doing standing there? Look, our fireworks are about to burn out!”

Her attention was quickly pulled back by Qiangwei, and she stopped overthinking. The two of them went back to admiring the fireworks and enjoying their fleeting beauty.

Meanwhile, Su Qingyi had stayed at home for a while, but couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy. Two girls out playing by themselves—it wasn’t the safest idea. So he followed their trail out of concern.

Sure enough, he saw them in the courtyard, playing with fireworks.

The fireworks lit up the night, and both girls were smiling brightly. Gu Qiangwei’s face wore a serene smile, glowing like a child, her eyes twinkling with joy.

She really seemed to love fireworks.

When they were done, she giggled and pulled Su Qingshuang along. They hopped and bounced around, no different from the kids nearby.

Su Qingyi had originally just come out to check on them, but now found his eyes constantly drawn to Gu Qiangwei.

No matter how he tried, he couldn’t stop looking at her.

After a while, he gave up resisting and simply stood there quietly watching. Eventually, their fireworks ran out, and the two girls prepared to head home. Only then did he step forward.

“Big Brother! What took you so long!”

Seeing Su Qingyi, Su Qingshuang pouted. “If you’d come earlier, we wouldn’t have looked so strange! It was just us two grown-ups out there playing with fireworks and jumping around in the middle of a bunch of little kids!”

“If you’d been there, it wouldn’t have felt so weird!”

Still caught up in the awkwardness of the moment, Su Qingshuang kept grumbling. But Su Qingyi, remembering how the two had looked playing with fireworks, didn’t think they looked strange at all.

They were just like big kids.

Not much different.

“I’m not that childish,” he thought silently—but there was no way he’d say that out loud.

“What do you mean, childish?” Su Qingshuang marched over in mock outrage. “Qiangwei and I didn’t get to play together when we were little. We’re just making up for lost time! It’s not childish at all, okay?”

Su Qingyi could only nod and agree. “Okay, okay, not childish, not childish at all, alright?”

“That’s such a half-hearted answer! How can you say that!” Su Qingshuang and Su Qingyi kept bickering all the way home.

When He Xiulan and Su Jianbin saw the three of them return together, they couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation stir in their hearts.

Especially when Su Qingyi stood next to Gu Qiangwei.

The two of them looked just like a young couple.

Now and then, you could even catch a glimpse of shy smiles on their faces.

He Xiulan and Su Jianbin exchanged a glance, then smiled and shook their heads.

Some bonds should be left to the younger generation.

No need to force anything.

“Come on, come on, I just washed some fresh fruit. Have a snack and then go rest,” He Xiulan called out with a smile.

The three of them sat down and chatted while eating fresh fruit.

Su Qingshuang even linked arms with Gu Qiangwei and grinned, “This is so great! From now on I’ll get to go to work and come home with Qiangwei!”

“I’m leaving the morning after tomorrow,” Su Qingyi suddenly said as he ate his fruit.

He’d already been home for six days. It took about a day to travel back to his unit, and he had to report in on the tenth.

Everyone fell a little quiet after hearing that, a touch of sadness in their expressions.

Especially He Xiulan.

He had only just come home, and now he was leaving again.

“I’ll go out and buy some good food tomorrow. Let’s have a proper family meal before I leave early the next morning.”

There was nothing Su Qingyi could do. He really wanted to stay longer.

But this wasn’t something he could decide. As a soldier, whether it was rest or anything else, he had to follow orders.

“Alright!”

Everyone agreed.

Gu Qiangwei looked at Su Qingyi’s face and thought about everything that had happened over the past few days.

Su Qingyi was truly a good person.

Then again, Su Jianbin and He Xiulan were great people too. With such good parents, of course they raised good children. Even Su Qingshuang was a genuinely kind person.

They all sat around in the living room for a while longer, chatting about things they were all interested in. When the conversation wound down, they each went off to their rooms to rest.

Gu Qiangwei entered the space again. The field was still there, unchanged—she hadn’t had time to buy seeds yet, so nothing had grown.

All the items in the space were still where she left them. Later, she planned to sell the useless furniture to clear up more room.

As for Wang Shufen’s things, and the money and pension she had sent… those she would definitely keep.

She’d used a portion for her investments already, but she’d need the rest later on.

This was the compensation for everything they had hidden from her in her past life.

By now, they should have already realized: the younger son was alive, and it was the elder son who had died.