Chapter 28.1

People often said: “There are only exhausted oxen, never plowed-out fields.”

Su Ting felt that she and He Dongchuan might be the exception. The energy of a young man in his late twenties was simply too overwhelming.

When she boasted that He Dongchuan could go four or five days a week, with four or five times each day, she had already felt uncertain inside, afraid that she was exaggerating too much and would embarrass herself.

Although she didn’t have much personal experience, her theoretical knowledge was extensive. She knew that, in reality, the vast majority of men were only active once or twice a week, one or two times a day, each lasting about three minutes.

The first time Su Ting learned this, she felt as if her entire worldview had been reshaped. In the novels she had read before, seven times a night was the standard.

The difference was… quite significant.

However, in recent years, perhaps due to the availability of information, even authors had realized that exaggeration wouldn’t be believable anymore. Now, not to mention seven times a night, even four, five, or six times were rarely written. Over time, she had gradually come to understand the difference between the real world and fiction.

But He Dongchuan was an exception.

Or maybe not necessarily an exception. Although he had never officially appeared in the original novel, he was, after all, the biological father of the male protagonist. He definitely wasn’t the same as ordinary people.

Thinking this way, his boundless energy suddenly seemed explainable.

Her wandering thoughts came to an end as Su Ting turned over and got out of bed, reaching for the vanity beside it. She had indulged too much the night before. Now, she felt an unbearable soreness in her waist and legs, even standing made her feel like her legs were trembling.

When she placed her hand down, she felt something unusual. Lowering her head, she saw that she had pressed down on a rectangular fountain pen case.

Had he left his pen on the vanity last night?

And why hadn’t he taken it with him when he left?

With these thoughts, Su Ting picked up the fountain pen case and opened the lid. The moment she saw the pen inside, she froze.

She clearly remembered that the fountain pen she had bought for him yesterday was black. But now, lying inside the case was a silver fountain pen. It couldn’t have faded, could it?

Of course, fading was just a joke. Not only did fountain pens not fade, but even if they did, black couldn’t possibly fade into silver.

Had she remembered wrong?

Su Ting closed the fountain pen case, deciding to ask He Dongchuan about it when he returned.  

After putting the case down, she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and headed out. As she passed the dining table, she noticed a glass bottle with half of its milk still inside. She raised her hand and knocked herself lightly on the forehead.  

She had stayed up too late last night and had only gotten up at eight o’clock—just a moment ago—completely forgetting about picking up the milk.  

She wasn’t sure if the milk had been delivered by Jiang Aihong or if He Yan had gone to get it.  

After washing up, Su Ting poured the remaining milk from the bottle into an enamel cup and had a simple breakfast with the egg cake she had bought yesterday.  

She didn’t go out afterward. Instead, she grabbed a stool, moved to the courtyard outside, and leaned against the wall, gazing at the sea for inspiration.  

Her new story had nothing to do with the ocean, but the quietness here was calming. Watching the blue sky, white clouds, and the endless stretch of deep blue sea, it felt as if time had slowed down.  

As she watched, a palm-sized rock crab suddenly appeared in her sight, scuttling sideways from left to right.  

Su Ting put down her pen and paper, stood up, kicked off her shoes, and walked barefoot towards it, crouching down on the beach to observe its movements.  

The crab wasn’t very big—its body and legs combined were only about the size of her palm—but it moved quickly, navigating the sand effortlessly.  

She watched for a while, then mischievously reached out, pinched its shell, and flipped it over.  

The crab’s legs flailed in the air, and its two large pincers snapped open and shut.  

Su Ting extended her paintbrush to poke at its pincers. The next moment, the pincers clamped down on the brush, gripping it so tightly she couldn’t pull it free.  

It had quite a bit of strength.  

She continued poking with the brush—two pokes, then pulling back, another two pokes, then pulling back again. After a few rounds, she felt something was off.  

The moment she realized what was wrong, she let out a dramatic sigh toward the sky.  

She had been completely led astray!  

Just as she was lost in thought, a voice called out from behind her. Su Ting turned her head and saw Yu Xiaofang standing in the courtyard of the house in front. She quickly released the crab and walked over.  

“What’s up?” she asked.  

“What are you doing over there?” Yu Xiaofang asked with a smile.  

Su Ting pointed toward the beach. “I just saw a crab, so I played with it for a bit.”  

Yu Xiaofang laughed. “You really have time to waste.”  

“Well, free time is free time. What about you? No work today?”  

“There’s always work.” Yu Xiaofang said nonchalantly. “It’s not going anywhere. Whether I do it now or later, it makes no difference.” Then, as if remembering something, she asked: “Did you guys go to the city yesterday?”  

“Yeah.” Su Ting replied. “How did you know?”

“Not just me—everyone in the Family Residential Compound knows about it!” Yu Xiaofang said. “That scooter He Yan was riding yesterday has all the kids here jealous. My own kid wants one too. I was just about to ask you—how much did that thing cost?”  

“A little over fifty.” Su Ting replied.  

“What?!” Yu Xiaofang thought she had misheard.  

“There are a few models. The smallest one is thirty-six. The one he got is on the bigger side, so it cost fifty-six.” The kick scooter was right there, and the price was transparent. Yu Xiaofang could easily find out by asking in the city, so Su Ting didn’t bother downplaying the price.  

Yu Xiaofang was stunned. “Fifty-six bucks for a toy scooter?!” That was just throwing money away!  

Su Ting didn’t argue that fifty-six wasn’t expensive. For one, she actually did think it was quite pricey. For another, showing off wealth wasn’t exactly fashionable in those days. Instead, she simply said: “The kid really wanted it.”  

Yu Xiaofang clicked her tongue twice. “You guys are spoiling him too much. Fifty-six yuan, just for a toy scooter…”  

Usually, when others said that Su Ting and her husband didn’t know how to manage money, she never thought much of it. After all, He Dongchuan had a high salary, and they only had one child—spending like this was manageable.  

But today, she had to admit it. The two of them really didn’t know how to be frugal.  

Hearing the undertone of Yu Xiaofang’s words, Su Ting smiled and said: “It’s just this once.”  

Using her first manuscript payment to buy a gift was about creating a sense of occasion. If she spent every paycheck on gifts, that would truly be bad money management. However, she didn’t want to mention her comic book passing review just yet, so she left it at that.  

…  

Many kids in the Family Residential Compound were envious of the kick scooter, and Yu Xiaofang wasn’t the only one trying to find out its price. Every time Su Ting went out that day, she was bombarded with the same question.  

She was getting fed up.  

Under normal circumstances, she was a patient person. Working in the graphic design industry, she was used to revising a project seven or eight times—only for the client to turn around and say the first version was best.  

Without patience, she would’ve died of frustration long ago.  

But every time she mentioned the price, the military wives would give her disapproving looks, just like Yu Xiaofang. They all thought she was bad at managing money.  

If they had simply kept it to themselves or expressed it more tactfully, she wouldn’t have minded. It was normal for people to have different values.  

But the way they spoke—criticizing her, looking down on her—it was irritating.  

Feeling annoyed, Su Ting decided to stay home that afternoon and work on her new comic book story instead of going out.

However, the news that Su Ting had spent fifty-six yuan on a kick scooter for He Yan spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Family Residential Compound within half a day.  

That afternoon, whether they had jobs or not, the military wives of the compound were all talking about her.  

At Military Elementary School, Duan Xiaoying had just finished a lesson and returned to the office. She hadn’t even taken a sip of water when a colleague at the desk beside her asked: “Do you know how much He Yan’s kick scooter cost?”  

The teachers’ office at Military Elementary was a repurposed classroom—square and spacious, with desks arranged in pairs. The entire school had only twelve teachers aside from the principal, and all of them shared this office.  

But since it was right after class, some teachers were still wrapping up their lessons or dealing with other matters, so only seven were present at the moment.  

Hearing the question, all seven looked up in unison.  

Chen Lin, another teacher, asked: “How much?”  

Her daughter was one of the many children in the compound envious of the kick scooter. But she hesitated to buy one, worried it was too dangerous—what if her daughter went too fast and fell?  

She hadn’t yet decided whether to buy it, but it was always good to know the price in advance.  

“Fifty-six yuan!” the teacher who had brought it up raised one hand, first showing five fingers, then six.  

The entire office erupted.  

“That expensive?!”  

The teacher lifted her chin. “Of course! I heard there are cheaper ones, but those are smaller—meant for three- or four-year-olds. The one Su Ting bought for He Yan is a bigger model, so it’s more expensive.”  

“That’s way too much—fifty-six yuan is two or three months’ salary for us! Su Ting really doesn’t hold back.” One teacher sighed. “I was thinking that if it were cheap, I’d get one for my kid to stop them from whining all the time, but now… sigh.”  

Chen Lin shared the same thought. If the scooter had only been twenty or thirty yuan, she might have gritted her teeth and bought one. But fifty-plus? That was too much.  

And besides, it was dangerous.  

Dropping the idea of getting a kick scooter for her daughter, Chen Lin said: “It’s not even her money. Why would she hesitate to spend it?”  

Several teachers agreed.  

“That’s true. She’s always been a big spender—obviously someone who’s never had to manage a household. If they had more kids, Colonel He’s salary wouldn’t be nearly enough.”  

But some spoke up in Su Ting’s defense.  

“What’s the point of separating their money? Even if Colonel He earns it, she’s his wife. And considering she’s a stepmother, the fact that she was willing to buy He Yan a fifty-yuan toy shows she’s generous toward him.”  

“That’s true.” another teacher chimed in. “Every time they go to the city, they bring back plenty of things for He Yan.”

“Last month, they even bought clothes for He Yan. I also heard that He Yan often brought fruit to school to eat. Isn’t that right, Teacher Duan?”

“Huh?” Duan Xiaoying snapped back to reality, nodded, and said: “Yes, that’s true. Previously, He Yan was even caught eating in class by Teacher Li.”

Teacher Li said: “After I mentioned it once, that child never ate in class again.”

The teachers were not particularly concerned about whether He Yan still ate in class. As long as they could confirm that he often brought food to school, that was enough. One teacher summarized: “From this perspective, Su Ting is actually a decent stepmother.”

Many teachers nodded in agreement.

A stepmother, after all, could not be expected to be completely devoted to a child. There was no blood relation, and there was always a sense of distance. As long as she did not deliberately make the child’s life difficult, that was already considered good.

Of course, Duan Xiaoying was an exception. Among the military wives in the Family Residential Compound, she was widely recognized as a good stepmother.

Although there had been some discordant opinions regarding Duan Xiaoying after Han Bowen ran away from home some time ago, since nothing serious happened to him, people’s impression of her did not undergo a drastic change.

However, since they were discussing Su Ting at the moment, these thoughts merely flashed through their minds. No one said them out loud. Duan Xiaoying was unaware of this, but she clenched her hands tightly, feeling deeply unbalanced.

She felt that she worked tirelessly every day, yet no one ever spoke highly of her. At best, they would only make a reserved remark, saying she was doing “okay” as a stepmother.

But then there was Su Ting. She did no household chores at all, only spent He Dongchuan’s money to buy a few toys for He Yan, and everyone considered her a good stepmother.

The more Duan Xiaoying thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She didn’t even hear the class bell ring until Chen Lin called her. Snapping back to reality, she quickly gathered her lesson plans and headed out.

On the way to the classroom, Chen Lin asked: “What was wrong with you just now?”

“What?” Duan Xiaoying pretended to be confused.

“I saw that you looked a bit off. Did something happen?”

Duan Xiaoying tugged at the corner of her lips and said helplessly: “Yesterday, Bowen saw He Yan’s toy car and told us he wanted one too when he got home. Han Bin agreed.”

Chen Lin wasn’t surprised. Even her daughter wanted the same car, let alone Han Bowen, who was naturally drawn to exciting things. She asked: “Does Old Han know how much that toy car costs?”

“He doesn’t.” Duan Xiaoying shook her head.

If Han Bin knew the toy car cost fifty-six yuan, he definitely wouldn’t have agreed so easily to buy it for Han Bowen. And if he hadn’t agreed, she wouldn’t have stayed silent either.

Although both Han Bin and He Dongchuan were regimental-level officers, Han Bin’s naval unit often had to go out to sea. Because of this, in addition to his salary and island station allowance, he also received an extra monthly allowance.

However, He Dongchuan rarely had missions throughout the year. When comparing overall salaries, Han Bin earned about ten yuan more per month than He Dongchuan.

But both of He Dongchuan’s parents had jobs, and their monthly income was higher than his. Not only did they not need his financial support, but they could even provide him with financial assistance.

On the other hand, Han Bin’s parents had passed away, and his former mother-in-law was difficult to deal with. Despite raising her grandson to be thinner by the day, she still had the audacity to claim that she loved her daughter, forcing Han Bin to give her a monthly living allowance. It wasn’t a large amount—fifteen yuan per month—but even a little money still counted.

Furthermore, He Dongchuan had only one child, He Yan, whereas the Han family had three siblings. Even if Su Ting was a reckless spender, their household expenses could never be as high as those of the Han family.

That was why Su Ting could spend fifty to sixty yuan on a toy for He Yan without a second thought. But when Duan Xiaoying learned about the toy car’s price, her first reaction was: So little money, and she still spent it.

For many people, this was not a big deal. Whether or not they wanted to buy a toy for their child was entirely up to them.

But the Han family was different. As a stepmother, Duan Xiaoying’s biggest challenge now was figuring out how to make Han Bin abandon the idea of buying the toy without offending Han Bowen.

Chen Lin had known Duan Xiaoying for two years, and they had always been close. Understanding her dilemma, she comforted her: “Bowen isn’t an unreasonable child. If Old Han explains things to him properly, he’ll understand.”

Duan Xiaoying pressed her lips into a faint smile. “Hopefully.”

Though she said that, she wasn’t very optimistic. After what had happened last time, she had finally come to terms with the fact that Han Bowen would never truly be close to her.

If not for the fact that Han Bin adored him the most, that the three siblings shared a strong bond, and that she knew Han Bowen would be the most successful of the three in the future, she would have long given up trying to win him over.

Duan Xiaoying felt that even if they explained the situation to Han Bowen, the only one who would truly understand would be Han Bin.

Just thinking about it annoyed her.

…