Chapter 11: Let Me Massage It for You

Ye Qing hadn’t heard clearly. She turned her head to look at him. “What did you say?”

Qin Ye immediately turned his face away. “Nothing. Did you twist your waist? Let me massage it for you.”

As he spoke, he didn’t care about Ye Qing’s objections and pulled her into his arms. His large, strong hands began to massage her waist with force. It was sore and painful—but also incredibly comfortable.

Ye Qing looked up in surprise. From her angle, Qin Ye was a full head taller than her. His sharply defined face and bright, radiant eyes were unfairly handsome.

“You know how to give massages?”

Qin Ye lowered his head and instantly fell into the depths of her bright eyes.

Those eyes were clear and innocent, without a trace of pretense, paired with her delicate face—so beautiful she didn’t seem like a woman of this world.

He suddenly felt a bit hot. His face flushed red, and he couldn’t help swallowing hard. “I know plenty more than just that. You’ll find out in the future.”

Ye Qing blushed and pulled herself from his arms. “Okay, that’s enough. You don’t need to massage anymore.”

Just then, Nannan came running in from the courtyard. “Mommy, I like this house! The courtyard is so big! It’s even bigger than Grandma’s!”

Over the past couple of days, Nannan had clearly gotten stronger. She had been unsteady on her feet before, but now she could run already. Her energy while playing had also improved significantly.

Everything was developing in a good direction, and Ye Qing felt genuinely happy.

So what if there wasn’t love? She could live without it. After all, this man was one in a hundred—being able to live a good life was the most important thing.

She pointed to the empty ground in the courtyard and started planning. “I want to grow some vegetables here. The bare courtyard looks unpleasant. And over there—we could set up a small table, sit in the sun and drink some tea when there’s nothing to do. That wouldn’t be bad either.”

“The wall over there is kind of broken, it’ll need to be repaired too. Qin Ye, is it still a good time to plant vegetables now?”

She suddenly turned her head and met Qin Ye’s deep eyes, which were filled with a smile. “The weather’s just warming up—it’s the perfect time to plant. But if you really want to grow vegetables, it’s better to do it outside.”

“All the military wives have their own little vegetable gardens, just west of here. There’s even a small river nearby, so it’s convenient for watering. A lot of the military wives have cleared land and planted vegetables there. Some are even growing crops.”

Ye Qing smiled. “That works! It’s nice to have company too. Then I’ll plant flowers here instead.”

Qin Ye’s gaze was too intense. She instinctively looked away and turned around to start tidying up the clutter in the courtyard.

Before noon, Gao Hao arrived, with a villager following behind who was there to help build the kang bed. After hearing Qin Ye’s request, the man patted his chest and promised: “I’ll make sure you’re satisfied! Most of the kang beds in your military compound were built by me.”

Gao Hao didn’t sit idle either. He and Qin Ye busied themselves with moving and lifting things, saving Ye Qing a lot of effort.

By the time it got dark, the small courtyard was more or less organized.

Ye Qing picked up the washbasin to take a bath, and brought a clean set of clothes for Nannan as well.

By the time they came back from washing up, Qin Ye had already returned from the canteen with food. On the table was braised cabbage with vermicelli, stir-fried celery with meat, two bowls of seaweed egg soup, and three large steamed buns.

Ye Qing had been hungry for a while. Seeing the food, she couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. “This is too extravagant. If we have dishes, we don’t need soup. I made a shopping list for tomorrow. It’ll probably cost more than two hundred yuan.”

Qin Ye used to send her money every month, so he didn’t have much savings himself. The 178 yuan he had gotten from Su Fang had already been spent on transportation and necessities. After covering food and lodging these past few days, there wasn’t much left—he really didn’t want to spend it so freely.

As he watched her wipe the water from her damp hair, a phrase popped into Qin Ye’s mind: “A lotus emerging from clear water.”

How had he never realized she was this beautiful before?

It seemed that preconceived notions really affected one’s judgment. From now on, he must rid himself of biases and learn to see people and things objectively.

He smiled. “You’ve worked hard all day, eat. Don’t neglect your body—you and Nannan both need to eat more.”

“Let me take a look at the list you made.”

Ye Qing handed him the list. “See if there’s anything else we need. It’s not easy going into the city.”

Qin Ye frowned. “Why is it all household items? You didn’t list anything you or Nannan need?”

Ye Qing let out a sigh. “Do the math, this is already quite a lot! Especially the bedding—we need to buy more. When we get back, we’ll have to put two sets together just to cover that big heated kang bed.”

“If you ask me, the kang could’ve been made smaller. That big size is just going to waste a lot of firewood. The bedding and mats alone are going to cost a lot more.”

Qin Ye didn’t respond. He added two more items to the list before stuffing it into the inner pocket of his jacket.

The next morning, Qin Ye arrived early. A military supply truck was already waiting at the gate of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Several military wives heading to the city for shopping were already seated in the back. When they saw Qin Ye and Ye Qing, they all greeted them.

“Regiment Commander Qin, you’re personally coming along just to shop? Afraid your wife might get lost?”

Qin Ye smiled but didn’t reply.

That alone was already rare—normally, whenever they saw Qin Ye, he always wore a cold expression. Yet today, he actually smiled!

“You’re Ye Qing, right? Hurry up and get in, I’ll pull you up!” said Sun Fang, the wife of Political Commissar Zhang. She was also going to the city, and when she saw Ye Qing trying to get on the truck, she quickly reached out to help.

After handing Nannan to Ye Qing, Qin Ye went to sit up front in the passenger seat. The driver, Xiao Yan, greeted him cheerfully, but he only gave a small nod in return.

That iceberg-like aura of his radiated right through the canvas tarp and into the truck bed. The military wives, who had been chatting and laughing a moment ago, immediately fell silent.

Regiment Commander Qin was way too intimidating! No one could figure out how someone as delicate and beautiful as Ye Qing could handle being with him.

“Sister-in-law, I want to buy some vegetable seeds on this trip to the city.” Ye Qing said, turning to Sun Fang. “But I’m not sure what grows well here. Do you have any recommendations?”

Sun Fang responded warmly: “You’ve come to the right person! I’m going to buy some seeds too. Now that it’s spring, it’s the perfect time to plant vegetables. You can grow just about anything right now. If you wait another two months, you’ll only be able to plant Chinese cabbage and radishes!”

“But cabbage is great too! In winter, we basically survive on cabbage and radishes!”

“Here’s what we’ll do—just stick with me. Whatever I buy, you buy the same. Easy.”

A tall, slim military wife joined the conversation. “Sister Sun, I also want to buy some vegetable seeds. But I’ve got other things to shop for too and might not have time to go look for seeds. Could you pick some up for me? Whatever you buy is fine by me.”

Before Sun Fang could reply, another military wife cut in. “If you don’t have time, then don’t buy them this week. There are trucks going into the city every week. You can go next week—it’s not a big deal.”

Sun Fang nodded in agreement. “Exactly! Lingzi is right! It’s still a bit chilly these days—there might even be a cold snap coming. I’ve got a lot to buy myself, no time either.”

Ye Qing was just about to say something when Sun Fang gently tugged her sleeve. She immediately shut her mouth and stayed silent.

Judging by the expressions of the women in the truck, it seemed this other woman wasn’t well-liked.

But in Ye Qing’s memory, the book never mentioned someone like her. Perhaps her interactions with the female lead were minimal, so she was left out of the narrative.

Ye Qing decided she wasn’t going to be the one to stick her neck out.

Unexpectedly, that woman turned her gaze toward Ye Qing, shamelessly saying: “Regiment Commander Qin’s wife—heh, heh—we’re all military wives here, we ought to help each other out, don’t you think?”

“Look, I really don’t have time today. Can you help me pick up a few things? I’m not picky—any kind of seeds will do.”

Before Ye Qing could say a word, she heard Qin Ye cough from the front seat. The sound was laced with warning.