Chapter 46.1

Qin Qingman had thought about her old trick of pretending to be asleep, but as soon as the idea surfaced in her mind, she dismissed it. Pretending to sleep could only work by surprise, and there was no way it would be effective every time. Besides, Wei Ling’s reactions at this moment didn’t resemble someone who was completely unaware of her condition.

So, Wei Ling knew she was awake.

Qin Qingman’s thoughts turned rapidly as she silently sighed to herself, then opened her eyes.

“Ah Ling, good morning.”

She greeted him openly and straightforwardly.

Wei Ling had originally expected that Qin Qingman would still try to pretend to be asleep, and he was considering how to play along. Just then, a crisp greeting sounded by his ear.

Opening his eyes, he saw a pair of clear, large eyes.

Those big eyes held a faint trace of shyness, but they didn’t dodge or waver.

“Good morning, Wife.” Wei Ling replied, noticing Qin Qingman’s open and unreserved expression. As a man, he certainly wouldn’t be shy or hesitant. His voice was a bit husky, with a slightly upward lilt at the end, carrying an odd allure for Qin Qingman.

“Ah Ling, it’s already late. Let’s get up.” Qin Qingman said, trying to appear calm as she moved her arms and legs away from him.

Once all her limbs were disentangled from Wei Ling’s body, the warmth on Qin Qingman’s face finally subsided a little.

Wei Ling felt a pang of regret and reluctance as her body moved away from his, but in the end, he didn’t do anything. He lay there properly, waiting for Qin Qingman to get up first.

Qin Qingman looked at her clothes, feeling at a loss.

Yesterday, she had been too embarrassed to take off her clothes in front of Wei Ling. Now, how could she be willing to dress in front of him?

Although they had registered their marriage, they had only spent a few days together. It was a flash marriage, and the result was that, whether mentally or physically, Qin Qingman couldn’t ignore Wei Ling’s gaze.

“Chuchu has been up for a while. I’ll go check on him.”

Wei Ling, perceptive to Qin Qingman’s discomfort, simply decided to get up himself. He was a man and didn’t mind his body being seen.

Besides, he was certain that even if Wife looked, she’d probably be embarrassed to actually see.

As expected, when Qin Qingman heard his words, she merely murmured an “Mm.” Not only did she respond, but she also turned her back to him and buried her head into the covers.

Wei Ling watched his still-shy Wife, knowing that for both of them to face each other honestly, they would need more time.

With swift movements, he got out of bed and dressed. He left the bedroom ahead of Qin Qingman.

Once outside the bedroom, Wei Ling didn’t immediately go to find Chuchu. Instead, he stoked the fire in the living room. Once the fire was blazing, it would provide hot water for Qin Qingman when she got up.

After ensuring the fire was burning well, Wei Ling finally went outside to find Chuchu.

Chuchu, who had already used the bathroom, was crouched in front of the three snowmen, looking at them in astonishment. After a night, the snowmen hadn’t melted but had become even more translucent and sparkling. They no longer looked like ordinary snowmen but more like ice sculptures.

Hearing Wei Ling’s footsteps, Chuchu looked up, and his voice called out, “Brother-in-law, come quickly and look at the snowmen we built!”

“Oh? They’ve turned into ice sculptures?” Wei Ling was also a bit surprised.

“They must have been sprayed with water. If not, they wouldn’t have turned out like this!” Although Chuchu was young, he had grown up in this land and understood the principle behind snowmen and ice sculptures.

“It didn’t rain or snow last night.” Wei Ling responded, his sharp senses reminding him that if there had been rain or snow, he would have known.

“How strange.” Chuchu murmured, his eyes scanning the yard.

Ever since the last time Wei Ling had dug a pit to catch three little thieves, no one had dared sneak into their yard. Chuchu was puzzled as to how the snowmen had turned into ice sculptures.

Wei Ling cast a suspicious glance toward the neighbor’s house, Zhu Hongxia’s.

But he was certain that nothing unusual had happened at Zhu Hongxia’s place the previous day.

Inside the house, Qin Qingman had already dressed and had overheard Chuchu and Wei Ling murmuring outside. She opened the window and said, “It was me. I sprayed some water on them yesterday. I thought the ice sculptures looked prettier, so I just tried it.”

“Sis, the ice sculptures do look better than the snowmen. They’re so clear and sparkling. When the sun comes up, they’ll reflect all sorts of colorful light; it’ll look even more beautiful.” Chuchu immediately praised as soon as he heard that Qin Qingman was the one responsible for the change.

Wei Ling silently glanced at the little sycophant Chuchu, then sincerely looked at Qin Qingman and said, “It looks nice.”

“Nice or not, you can’t keep staring at it. Come back inside; it’s too cold out there.” Qin Qingman cast a glance at Chuchu, still crouched in front of the snowmen.

“Sis, I’ll be right back.”

Seeing Qin Qingman’s disapproving look, Chuchu quickly stood up. However, after crouching for so long, his legs went numb, and his body tilted, causing him to nearly fall into the snow.

Luckily, Wei Ling reacted quickly and immediately caught him.

He felt the child’s hands, then hurriedly led him back inside.

Chuchu, head lowered, didn’t dare look at Qin Qingman.

He hadn’t meant to stay outside so long. Originally, after using the bathroom, he had planned to come back inside. But when he saw that the snowmen had turned into ice sculptures, he got curious and stopped to watch. He had squatted there for two minutes, then remembered his sister and Brother-in-law were still inside.

He knew he couldn’t go back into the house covered in cold, or he’d make Sister and Brother-in-law cold as well.

By the time he hesitated, he had stayed out there too long, right until Wei Ling came looking for him.

“Brother-in-law—” Chuchu pouted and clung to Wei Ling’s neck, his little face rubbing against Wei Ling’s cheek.

Wei Ling understood why the child was acting this way. With a serious tone, he said, “A good child is one who admits their mistakes. I can’t help you.” Compared to Qin Qingman, he definitely wasn’t going to provoke her.

Chuchu’s plan failed, and he immediately rested his head on Wei Ling’s neck, staying still.

He silently grumbled to himself: *After all the love he gave Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law won’t help him. Hmph!*

Although Wei Ling didn’t hear Chuchu’s inner mutterings, he still slowly added, “I’ll stay with you while you’re punished.”

“Brother-in-law, you’re so nice.” Chuchu immediately perked up.

“You can’t stay out in the yard for so long next time. It’s cold. If you end up sick, your sister will be worried and upset.” Wei Ling wasn’t one to coddle the child all the time. When it was time for a lesson, he didn’t hold back.

“Brother-in-law, I understand. I won’t do it again.”

Chuchu acknowledged his mistake and sincerely apologized.

When the two of them entered the living room, Qin Qingman had already finished getting ready and was changing the water in the washbasin. “Both of you, hurry up and get yourselves ready. I’ll go make breakfast.” Having gone to bed early the previous night, she woke up early and was already hungry. She planned to make cornmeal porridge that morning.

Chuchu noticed that Qin Qingman hadn’t punished him, so he was in high spirits.

He struggled to get off Wei Ling’s lap and then, with his short little legs, went to tidy himself up.

In his good mood, he hummed an unknown countryside tune, simple and catchy, not at all vulgar.

As Qin Qingman was washing the cornmeal for the porridge, she smiled with her pretty eyes.

Though she wasn’t happy that Chuchu had been outside in the cold without caring for his health, once she saw that the child had realized his mistake, she didn’t mention punishment again. After all, Chuchu was only five years old. Most children his age were much harder to manage, but he was already able to understand his mistakes.

Chuchu quickly finished tidying up, in just a few minutes, and then made room for Wei Ling.

There was only one wooden face basin rack at home. Although Qin Qingman had bought a new basin, they still had to wait in line to use it.

Wei Ling took his basin from the second shelf and began to wash up.

As he washed his face, he thought for a moment and said to Qin Qingman and Chuchu, “Qin Qingman, Chuchu, after breakfast, I need to head back to the division. Do you want to come with me?”

He had been in such a rush when he went back to the division last time that he hadn’t had a proper chance to introduce his Wife and Chuchu to his comrades.

When Qin Qingman heard this, she immediately understood why Wei Ling wanted to go back. She hesitated and asked, “Can we go?”

The military had very strict controls, and ordinary people weren’t allowed to enter freely.

“Of course, you can go. You’re my Wife, and that makes you a military spouse. If our division had a family housing area built, with my rank, both you and Chuchu would be allowed to live with me on base.” Wei Ling answered seriously.

“Alright, then let’s go and take a look?”

Qin Qingman was very curious about the military camp. Yesterday, when she had accompanied Huang Wanqing, she had been busy with official matters and hadn’t had time to see the division where Wei Ling worked.

“We can take a tour around the division and then walk back along the river at the foot of the mountain. The river has frozen over by now, and we can dig up some ice to make ice lanterns.” Wei Ling suggested, inspired by the ice sculptures the snowmen had turned into.

The cold winter was perfect for making ice lanterns outside, and in the future, he could even see their lanterns from the division.

“That sounds great! I want to make ice lanterns!” Chuchu rushed over and hugged Wei Ling’s leg.

Wei Ling patted the top of the child’s head and looked toward Qin Qingman.

The world was vast, but to him, his Wife was the most important, so of course, he would follow her lead.

“Ah Ling, my aunt’s family has a sled. Let’s borrow it later. On our way back, we can not only carry ice but also try to catch some fish.” Qin Qingman said with a smile, her eyes bright with excitement.

She remembered that in the future, the elderly used to talk about the vast and bountiful Northeast, calling it the land of fish and rice.

They would hunt wild deer with sticks and scoop fish with ladles.

With Wei Ling by her side, she wanted to give it a try and see if they could catch any fish.

It was said that fish raised in cold water were especially tender and fresh. She couldn’t wait to taste the authentic cold-water fish from the snow village.

Qin Qingman looked at Wei Ling with hopeful eyes.

If it weren’t for Wei Ling, she would never have dared to hope for such a treat. Given her small stature, not only would she struggle to chop ice and catch fish, but even using the sled would be difficult. But now, with Wei Ling by her side, with Wei Ling, who could defeat wild boars with a single punch, she felt like she could dream of anything.

What could Wei Ling say to such a request from his Wife? Of course, he would do whatever it took to make it happen. “Alright.”

“Great! Let’s have breakfast quickly and head out.” Of course, Chuchu was the happiest. Whether it was riding the sled, chopping ice, or catching fish, to him, it was all fun, especially with the two adults joining in.

“Chuchu, go get ready. We’ll be out for a while today, so we need to put on the warmest clothes.”

Seeing how excited Chuchu was, Qin Qingman decided to give him something to do. Otherwise, she would surely be bombarded with endless requests.

“Okay, I’ll go now.” Chuchu tugged at Wei Ling’s hand and headed for the bedroom.

He was so small that he needed a stool just to climb onto the bed, let alone open the chest. Naturally, he needed Wei Ling, who had the longest legs in the house, to help.

Wei Ling glanced at Qin Qingman.

“Ah Ling, go help Chuchu. I’ll just make some porridge and stir-fry a few vegetables. You don’t need to help with anything else.” Qin Qingman said, understanding that Wei Ling wanted to help, but she hadn’t planned on making anything too complicated for breakfast.

“Alright.”

Wei Ling nodded and followed Chuchu toward the bedroom.

Although Chuchu had been pulling him along, if Wei Ling didn’t want to walk, his pace would slow down to a crawl, like an ant moving at a glacial pace.

Watching this, Qin Qingman’s heart warmed with sweetness.

She was glad her husband wasn’t a chauvinist.

—o—o—o—