Chapter 27: Putting a Green Hat on You

Yi An’an was startled by Zhan Nanhui’s expression, but didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about inviting Tang Aren to stay for lunch.

She was genuinely grateful to Tang Aren for saving her daughter in their past life. And since they were in the open courtyard, she thought it was just a simple meal to thank a benefactor. She had no idea how much her behavior stung in Zhan Nanhui’s eyes.

Zhan Nanhui dragged a stool over and sat down right between Yi An’an and Tang Aren.

Yi An’an and Tang Aren had been sitting across from each other. Now, with Zhan Nanhui in between, it was a tight fit.

Zhan glanced at the red chili flakes that had already been tossed into the pot, clearly displeased — but it was too late.

The meat was about to burn, so Yi An’an quickly ladled in some water and asked, “You didn’t eat? Didn’t the brigade provide lunch today?”

“No,” Zhan replied flatly, not even glancing at the enamel bowl he had left on the fence when he walked in.

“I thought you were eating with the brigade. Now the chili can’t be taken out — what should we do?” Yi An’an looked at the pot of red broth and suggested, “How about I add more tofu and cabbage later to dilute the spiciness?”

Zhan Nanhui let out a cold chuckle. “There’s pork belly in there too?”

Yi An’an frowned slightly. Only then did she realize something was off in Zhan’s tone, and she quickly explained, “I used some in the noodles this morning too — this is just the leftovers!”

Zhan said nothing more but cast a few sharp glances at Tang Aren.

Under the weight of Zhan’s gaze, Tang Aren felt a chill run down his back. No matter how badly he wanted to eat hotpot, he couldn’t stay any longer.

“Big sis, I just remembered I’ve still got work to do at the team. I’ll have to pass on lunch — I’m heading out now,” he said, getting up.

“It’s already done. Just eat before you go — a little work won’t make a difference,” Yi An’an quickly stood up to stop him.

“No, no, just a couple of those big steamed buns will do. Those are a treat too — I don’t usually get to eat them!” Tang Aren said as he grabbed two big white buns and made a hasty retreat.

He really was hungry after a full morning of labor.

What a shame — that pork belly was practically in his mouth and now it was gone!

As he walked away chewing the buns, he kept thinking about that pork belly, swallowing involuntarily.

Yi An’an stood at the doorway watching his retreating figure, feeling a little disappointed.

In her previous life, when she asked around for Tang Aren after his death, a friend of his told her the last thing he said before hanging himself was that he wanted to eat hotpot just once.

Back then, she hadn’t known what hotpot was. Later, she specially asked a southern friend to teach her how to make it. She even paid a high price for a green cabbage from the village chief’s wife to make it authentic for Tang Aren. But in the end, he still didn’t get to eat it.

Yi An’an consoled herself — there would be another chance. This time around, she was determined to repay Tang Aren’s kindness.

Zhan Nanhui frowned slightly, watching Yi An’an continue to stare down the road, then stood up and headed out.

“You’re not eating?” Yi An’an was surprised and asked.

Zhan didn’t respond. He just picked up the enamel bowl from the fence and walked off.

Yi An’an frowned. If she had known he wasn’t going to eat, she wouldn’t have added so much tofu. Now there was just her — what a waste!

At the pigpen, Zhan Nanhui ate his now-cold lunch while thinking about Yi An’an’s attitude toward Tang Aren. He felt incredibly irritated.

They were only living together for convenience, each getting what they needed. Once he got into university, he planned to divorce and leave this wretched place. So why did this bother him so much?

That night, Yi An’an used the leftover pork belly and vegetables to make a non-spicy hotpot for Zhan. She just ate the leftovers from lunch.

It was only then that Zhan Nanhui understood — hotpot was basically cooking food in a shared pot, like the copper pots used in Beijing to cook lamb. Only here, instead of lamb, they used vegetables and pork. But because the food was cooked and eaten directly from the pot, it stayed hot and comforting in winter, and with the pork belly, it was especially tasty.

Seeing Zhan enjoying the meal finally put Yi An’an at ease.

After thinking things through, she realized she had acted too hastily earlier. She’d just found Tang Aren and was eager to repay him, forgetting that she was now married.

More importantly, she had been too enthusiastic — she might have scared him off!

So Yi An’an reflected seriously. Seeing that Zhan was in a good mood while eating, she took the chance to apologize.

“I’m sorry about what happened this afternoon. Tang Aren once saved me. Maybe he doesn’t even remember, but I do. That’s why I was overly friendly when I saw him, and I forgot I’m already married to you. I didn’t mean to make you misunderstand.”

Zhan Nanhui looked at her. “He saved you?”

Yi An’an nodded and recounted the story of Tang Aren saving her daughter in their past life, adjusting it so it was her own experience. “A long time ago, in the middle of winter, I fell into the river. Tang Aren saved me, but he didn’t leave a name. I’ve only now found him — that’s why…”

Zhan turned to look at the dark river not far away. Tang Aren looked so scrawny — could he really have had the courage to jump into an icy river to save someone?

“You don’t need to worry. It won’t happen again. Before we divorce, I’ll make sure to keep a proper distance with other men, so you won’t misunderstand, and no one in the village will think I’m putting a green hat on you,” Yi An’an said quietly.

Zhan didn’t care what the villagers thought or said. He was already labeled a “bourgeois counterrevolutionary” — what reputation did he have to protect? He just didn’t like the way it made him feel.

“As long as you understand,” Zhan said softly.

“I’ll keep my distance from other men — can you do the same?” Yi An’an suddenly asked.

Zhan froze, not understanding what she meant. Just as he was about to ask, he heard Chen Sisi’s voice outside the fence.

“Brother Zhan, I brought you some braised beef! Come try it!” Chen Sisi pushed open the gate herself, holding a lunchbox. When she saw the pot of cabbage cooking, she frowned and said, “Brother Zhan, now’s the time you need brainpower the most with all your studying. How can you get nutrition from just this? Try the braised beef I made — it’s delicious! I remember it used to be your favorite!”

As she spoke, she opened the aluminum lunchbox, lifted a large piece of braised beef with her pinky elegantly raised, leaned forward with a seductive smile, and tried to feed it directly to Zhan’s mouth.

Yi An’an frowned slightly at the scene.

“Used to be your favorite,” and hand-feeding him?
Looks like there really was something between Zhan Nanhui and Chen Sisi before…