Chapter 19.3

Su Ting was flipping through the magazines she had bought, thinking about submitting her work.  

In those days, communication was slow, and it was common for a letter to take ten days or even half a month to arrive. “Comic Book” was one of the most popular magazines of the time, and they received many submissions every day.  

With the time it took for letters to go back and forth, and the time spent reviewing submissions, it would be considered fast if she received a reply by the end of May.  

Sigh.  

Su Ting sighed as she was about to turn the page when she heard a knock at the door. While walking over to open it, she asked: “Who is it?”  

She had expected it to be He Yan. After all, He Dongchuan had stayed up all night and had just returned. He should be lying in bed asleep by now. However, the man standing outside was tall and broad-shouldered.  

Su Ting asked: “Aren’t you sleeping?”  

He Dongchuan’s reply was direct: “I wanted to talk to you first.”  

Su Ting wondered what was so urgent that it couldn’t wait until he woke up. It must have been something important between them, but what came out of her mouth was: “Where should we talk?”  

“Let’s go for a walk on the beach.” He Dongchuan suggested.  

“Alright, wait for me.” Su Ting said, as she went back into the room to grab a hat and then went outside with He Dongchuan.  

She was quite careful about sun protection.  

Once outside, Su Ting glanced toward the second bedroom but didn’t see He Yan. She asked: “Where did Xiao Yan go?”  

“He went to play with his friends.”  

Well, he certainly had a strong mental fortitude!  

Su Ting thought that He Yan must have been upset outside, and it was strange for him to want to go out only in the afternoon. She didn’t expect him to have recovered so quickly. Still, she asked: “How is he feeling?”  

As they spoke, the two of them walked out of the house.  

Though it wasn’t exactly a case of doors left wide open, Pingchuan Island had stationed troops for deterrence, so the security was quite good. Besides, it was a family compound. They hadn’t locked the door but had only left it ajar as they went out.

Passing through the He family’s courtyard wall, they were now at the narrow, golden sandy beach outside.  

Su Ting felt a bit guilty as she thought about it. Before she had crossed over, whenever she saw photos of the sea posted by others, she would envy those who lived by the sea, able to face the ocean and wait for the warmth of spring.  

But now that she was living by the sea, she found that, compared to looking at the ocean, she would rather stay home, lying on the couch with her phone or the TV. The time she actually spent peacefully gazing at the sea had become less.  

In short, her state could be summed up by the saying: what you can’t have always seems the best.  

As Su Ting sighed inwardly, she distractedly listened to He Dongchuan speak: “It’s fine, he went to find Zhang Xiaokai, didn’t go to the playground.”  

“Oh—!” Su Ting suddenly turned her head: “Did he tell you about this morning?”  

He Dongchuan stopped and looked down at her: “He did.”  

Su Ting wasn’t much of a fan, but she was a bit of a gossip. When she was bored, she liked to browse entertainment news, watching random people analyze celebrities’ acting skills, roles, and love-hate relationships.  

She didn’t know whether the content was true, but as long as she enjoyed reading it, that was enough.  

When reading gossip, especially about male celebrities who were rumored to look deeply affectionate at female celebrities, Su Ting noticed that many fans would argue, saying: “Nonsense! Our brother has peach blossom eyes / phoenix eyes / or whatever, and even if he’s looking at a utility pole, it’s still full of affection!”  

Well, in the entertainment industry, nearly every male celebrity with rumors seemed to have a pair of affectionate eyes.  

Su Ting wasn’t sure if male celebrities in the industry had affectionate eyes, but she thought that He Dongchuan looked quite affectionate as he gazed at her now. In fact, after locking eyes with him, her heart couldn’t help but flutter.  

At that moment, a cool sea breeze brushed against Su Ting’s cheek, quickly cooling her heated head.  

Stop overthinking.  

The person before her was He Dongchuan, the husband in the novel who had been married to the original body for three years but had no feelings for her. Who did she think she was, that the same face would be enough to make him fall for her in a short amount of time?  

Su Ting turned her head and warned herself in her mind.  

She stepped ahead of He Dongchuan and walked a few paces forward. Since she was wearing cloth shoes, she didn’t dare to step into the water. Instead, she squatted on the beach, extending her hand to feel the impact of the waves.  

The waves parted as her hand met the water, only to quickly come together again, slowly pushing forward, then retreating back into the sea once it reached a certain point.  

Su Ting changed her gesture, letting the water ebb and flow over her hand.  

He Dongchuan’s gaze moved from her delicate, fair fingers, slowly traveling upward, until it finally rested on her beautiful face, which was carrying a subtle smile.

Her personality was a bit contradictory. When she was mature, she was very mature, but when she was childish, she was very childish. Like now—she was so happy playing with the water, just like a child.  

The child herself was pondering what He Dongchuan wanted to talk to her about, and why he suddenly wanted to have a conversation with her.  

While she was thinking, she heard He Dongchuan ask: “Who is Qian Honghong’s mother?”  

“Who?” Su Ting didn’t immediately respond.  

“Xiao Yan said that you told him that Qian Honghong’s mother asked you to get rid of her.”  

The sentence was a bit convoluted, but Su Ting understood it and felt a little uneasy inside.  

In the novel, Yu Hongzhi had indeed said something similar, but that was at least a year or two later. The original body, due to a poor marriage, grew closer to Yu Hongzhi, which was when she became so direct.  

But right now, the original body hadn’t had much contact with Yu Hongzhi, and their relationship was just that. She certainly wouldn’t go out of her way to give her any ammunition.  

Worried that He Dongchuan might confront Yu Hongzhi, Su Ting decided to be honest: “Actually, I was just scaring Xiao Yan. She didn’t directly say that.”  

“Was there any indirect suggestion?”  

“Not really.” Su Ting thought for a moment and said: “At most, she was trying to sow discord between Xiao Yan and me. Anyway, she’s not a good person.”  

He Dongchuan nodded. “She also tried to sow discord with Xiao Yan.”  

Su Ting asked: “Are you talking about this morning’s incident?”  

“Yes. Did Xiao Yan tell you about it?”  

“He did.”  

Su Ting didn’t ask whether He Yan had also told him everything. There was no need to ask—she could tell from his attitude. The only thing she wasn’t sure about was whether He Yan had only mentioned the playground incident or if he had told him about their entire conversation.  

He Dongchuan nodded again and asked: “What do you think?”  

Su Ting didn’t immediately understand. “What do you mean, what do I think?”  

“He Honghong’s mother said we would get a divorce.” He Dongchuan summarized the background in a few simple words, then squatted down in front of Su Ting and asked: “Have you considered divorce?”

Su Ting’s mind was a bit out of sync, and she blurted out: “You want a divorce?”  

After asking, she realized it wasn’t right. In the novel, the original body’s marriage to He Dongchuan had lasted for three years, and that was only because he had passed away unexpectedly.  

If he had stayed alive, Su Ting suspected that as long as the original body didn’t do anything reckless, their marriage could have lasted ten, twenty years, or even a lifetime.  

So why, less than a month after she crossed over, was He Dongchuan already talking about divorce?  

She had just been overthinking… sigh.  

While she sighed and considered her options for retreat, He Dongchuan gave her a clear answer: “No, I want to live well with you. That’s the main reason I wanted to talk to you.”  

“Then… you want to live well with me?” Su Ting asked uncertainly.  

“Yes.”  

Looking at his serious expression, Su Ting slowly started to realize her mistake. It was probably because she kept thinking their marriage wouldn’t last, and that she’d have to figure out what to do after a divorce, that when he asked her, her mind naturally went in the wrong direction.  

As for him saying he wanted to live well with her—she believed it, but couldn’t fully trust it.  

She trusted it based on what she had learned about He Dongchuan in this short time. He was someone who valued trust, kept his promises, and never used sweet words. When he said he wanted to live well with her, she could tell that’s genuinely how he felt.  

But she couldn’t fully trust it because people’s hearts could change. What he thought now might not be what he thought in the future.  

Hadn’t He Dongchuan ever wanted to live well with the original body? Su Ting wasn’t so sure. Given his personality, if he hadn’t considered trying, he would never have married the original body in the first place.  

But at the same time, he wouldn’t have accepted the original body so quickly. Part of it was because, as a soldier, he was highly cautious. Another part was that their marriage had been based on an unsavory scheme.  

And that, too, was the root of his indifference after their marriage.  

The original body didn’t understand, and as his indifference grew, she became increasingly anxious. He, in turn, might have started feeling disappointed in her for some reason. So two people who weren’t close to begin with drifted farther apart in their marriage.  

Perhaps right now, He Dongchuan’s feelings toward her were still in the phase of wanting to live well together. Whether that would turn into growing old together or growing tired of each other, that couldn’t be determined just yet.  

But from another perspective, their current relationship might be different from the one in the novel between him and the original body at this point.

He Dongchuan had taken a step toward her.

And that step left Su Ting feeling very conflicted.

In her mind, the ideal situation between her and He Dongchuan was to maintain the same relationship they had before, until three years later when they divorced or she became a widow.

But it was clear that He Dongchuan didn’t intend to continue that way. Su Ting didn’t think that when he said he wanted to get along well, he meant continuing like before—living under the same roof as a married couple but leading separate lives.

As she thought about this, Su Ting couldn’t help but curse Yu Hongzhi in her mind. If it weren’t for her stirring up trouble in front of He Yan, He Yan wouldn’t have run back with red eyes, and He Dongchuan wouldn’t have thought about all these things. Then, Su Ting wouldn’t have to be in such a difficult position.

She stood up and walked back and forth in a fixed area a couple of times before carefully speaking: “Well… I thought you didn’t like me very much.”

He Dongchuan also stood up, standing with the sun behind him, looking at Su Ting with sincere eyes. His tone was earnest as he said: “At first, I didn’t have a good impression of you. I married you partly because of rumors, but after spending time together, I realized a lot of my previous opinions of you were based on prejudice. The real you is genuine, straightforward, kind, and soft-hearted…”

Su Ting realized that this man, who didn’t seem to be good with words, was actually quite effective at making her feel flattered. She considered herself thick-skinned, but even she couldn’t help but feel her face flush and her heart race. Was she really that good?

But Su Ting wasn’t inexperienced. Although her own romantic experiences were limited, before she crossed over, she had seen enough idol dramas. She’d watched at least a hundred or so, so she wasn’t unfamiliar with those heart-throbbing, pink bubble-inducing scenes.

After quickly calming the fluttering in her heart, she asked: “So, do you love me?”

While she thought maintaining their “plastic” marriage was fine, if He Dongchuan wanted to take things further, it wouldn’t be a problem. After all, his height and looks were definitely to her liking.

However, for their relationship to shift from a “plastic” marriage to a real one, it couldn’t just be about looks and personality matching her preferences. There had to be love.

Although love wasn’t necessarily reliable, without it, Su Ting wouldn’t be able to find any reason for this marriage to continue.

She hadn’t thought about divorce before because her relationship with He Dongchuan had always been so superficial. In her eyes, He Dongchuan wasn’t really a husband, but more like a business partner—or even a colleague.

She had thought that even though their paths briefly crossed, they would eventually drift apart and head in separate directions in the future.

In that scenario, her expectations of He Dongchuan were very low—she just needed him to be a decent person and easy to get along with.

But now, He Dongchuan wanted to change this superficial relationship and truly be husband and wife with her. That meant the standards had to be raised. Moreover, because He Dongchuan’s other qualities were quite good, Su Ting focused on the emotional aspect.

If He Dongchuan only thought that she was suitable to be a wife and manage a household, then she had to make it clear to him and ask for a divorce as soon as possible. As for whether ending the relationship now would offend the little male protagonist… she couldn’t care less about that!

If he loved her and wanted to spend his life with her, then she wasn’t opposed to trying it out with him.

Because of Su Ting’s straightforwardness, He Dongchuan almost choked on his own saliva. However, he could tell that this issue was very important to her, so he didn’t avoid it. After thinking seriously for a moment, he said: “When you smile, I feel happy with you. When you’re upset, I can’t help but worry. When we walk together, I want to hold your hand, talk to you, and get to know you. If this is love, then I love you.”

As he said this, he lowered his head slightly and looked at Su Ting with that deep, affectionate gaze.

This time, Su Ting was sure that she hadn’t been imagining things.

It might be too early to say “love.” but he liked her.