Chapter 22

In the end, Pei Ji’an finished a large bowl of Aunt Wu’s nourishing soup, which made her so happy that she praised him three times and even said she would stew more tomorrow.

“Cough—cough, cough.” Pei Zheng nearly choked upon hearing this. He glanced at Lu Nong, wondering just how much she disliked the old man, considering she was still making soup.

Lu Nong met Pei Zheng’s gaze for a moment before quickly looking away, emotionless.

Whatever, it’s not like I can clear this up even if I jumped into the Yellow River. I might as well just let it be.

The meal ended in this odd atmosphere. As soon as they finished eating, everyone at the table dispersed. Pei Zheng offered to wash the dishes, and Aunt Wu mentioned she still had some work to finish in the kitchen. They both got up almost simultaneously and squeezed into the kitchen. Xiao Zhou, seeing this, declared that the car seemed to have some issues and needed to go outside to check it.

Lu Nong : “…” Since that’s the case, I might as well slip away too.

She picked up Huaihuai and Xiao Bai and hurried upstairs.

Unfortunately, the monk can run away, but the temple cannot. Pei Ji’an does have lunch break, but he generally doesn’t like to rest at home. Today, during lunch break, Pei Ji’an did not return to the army as usual, but went upstairs to the bedroom.

He grasped the doorknob and was about to push the door open when he suddenly remembered something and knocked on the door.

No one answered from inside the bedroom.

Instead, the door to the neighboring room, where Gu Huai and Aunt Wu were, suddenly opened and quickly closed again.

Pei Ji’an couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.

Lu Nong initially wanted to soothe Huaihuai to sleep and then take a nap herself. Unfortunately, Huaihuai wouldn’t let go of Xiao Bai and insisted on sleeping with the little dog.

Seeing Huaihuai’s firm attitude and worrying about possible bugs on Xiao Bai, she said, “How about we give Xiao Bai a bath? He’s a bit dirty right now. After we wash him, he can sleep with the baby.”

Huaihuai tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then said, “Baby, take a bath.”

Lu Nong was surprised, “Baby, do you want to take a bath too?”

Huaihuai nodded, “Baby dirty, wash, Xiao Bai sleep.”

Lu Nong was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood what Gu Huai meant. He was saying he was dirty too and needed to get clean before he could sleep with Xiao Bai.

Her heart softened, as if she had been struck. Gu Huai was undoubtedly clever. He understood his mother’s slight disdain for his new friend Xiao Bai’s dirty fur and realized that if he wanted to share a bed with Xiao Bai, he needed to get clean first.

But in his heart, he regarded Xiao Bai as a friend. Since Xiao Bai could only sleep with him after being cleaned, he thought it only fair that he also needed to become clean in order to sleep with Xiao Bai.

What a gentle and pure soul. Lu Nong felt as though her heart had been healed.

How much trouble did he have to go through in the novel to become the so-called villain?

Thinking of this made Lu Nong feel a bit down. In the story, Gu Huai grew up to be paranoid, self-absorbed, and distrustful of others. He seemed to embody all the characteristics of a villain. He didn’t believe in love, avoided close relationships, and let loneliness and coldness become his trademarks.

The only time he sought redemption was when he fell in love with the daughter of the heroine’s sister. But it was too late, he had done too many irreversible things.

That girl didn’t love him and even disliked him because of his conflicts with her family. Eventually, she fell in love with someone else, got married, and had children.

It wasn’t until Gu Huai died young that the girl finally let go of her hatred for him, recognizing the weight of loss.

Lu Nong sighed and affectionately patted the little one’s head. “Alright, let’s give Xiao Bai a bath first, then we’ll wash you. How does that sound?”

“Mm-mm.” The little one nodded vigorously, looking serious yet adorable.

Lu Nong smiled and thought to herself that this was the way to go—raising him to be healthy and happy, growing up to bravely pursue his beloved girl, without needing to find someone else for redemption. He should be someone who finds his own peace of mind and self-redemption.

Mom will take good care of you.

She let out a sigh of relief and opened the door to head to the bathroom. Just as she opened the door, she saw Pei Ji’an standing at the entrance of the adjacent bedroom, raising his hand to knock.

Lu Nong: “…” Help, shouldn’t he go to work?

Instinctively, she retreated into the room. After a moment of silence outside, she carefully opened the door and peeked out, only to find that Pei Ji’an was no longer there. She then sneaked into the bathroom with the little one and Xiao Bai, as if she were a thief.

Help! She just wanted to escape and didn’t want to face Pei Ji’an’s anger at all.

Oh, when Pei Ji’an cools down, she’ll explain things to him.

But how should she explain? Help! Should she say she didn’t ask Aunt Wu to make soup for him, and that it was all Aunt Wu’s idea?

That’s true, but who would believe it?

She could say she didn’t think he was old, let alone inadequate. But she had said just yesterday that Pei Ji’an was older.

Great, now the whole family thinks Pei Ji’an is inadequate, and she’s the one who confirmed it with her own words.

To make matters worse, Pei Ji’an’s reputation has been completely tarnished by her.

Lu Nong felt despair. Would a man easily forgive a woman who spread rumors about him being inadequate?

He would, right?

Ah!! Forget it, it’s better to hide for now. Every moment she could stay hidden counted.

Xiao Bai was an all-white puppy, completely without any other color. He was small and extremely cute, but a bit aloof. If you approached to hug him, he would immediately run away, or turn his back to you.

However, the little one seemed undeterred. When Xiao Bai ran, he chased after him. When Xiao Bai turned his back, the little one would inch his way forward until he was in front of Xiao Bai, and then Xiao Bai would turn back…

During bath time, Xiao Bai still faced away from Lu Nong. Lu Nong, feeling a surge of courage, sprayed Xiao Bai down with the showerhead. Xiao Bai yelped, letting out a surprised “Woof!”

Lu Nong chuckled mischievously. “Xiao Bai, you’d better obey me obediently, otherwise, hmph…”

The little one looked at Lu Nong with disapproval.

Lu Nong sheepishly ended her prank and began to wash Xiao Bai seriously.

After cleaning him up, she dried him with an old towel. Xiao Bai was so small and had so few hairs that it only took a couple of swipes to get him completely dry.

“Let’s first put Xiao Bai on your bed, then we can give you a bath, okay?”

Ever since Lu Nong realized her little one had his own thoughts, she had started to instinctively ask for his opinion.

“Mm-mm,” he nodded at his mother and then reached out his little hand to pat the trembling Xiao Bai hidden in the towel. “Xiao Bai, wait for me.”

Lu Nong watched with delight.

The little one was such a good boy. Even when Lu Nong awkwardly bathed him, he didn’t cry or fuss. He sat patiently in the tub, looking at Lu Nong with innocent eyes.

It was only during the first few days after she had come back that the little one would cry for her every morning. Once she held him, he would stop crying and peacefully fall asleep in her arms.

Lu Nong felt a bit complicated. Gently wrapping him up like Xiao Bai, she cradled him and placed him back in his little bed.

Xiao Bai was still trembling under the old towel, not running around at all. When Lu Nong took the towel off his head, he shook himself dry, wobbled over to the little one, licked his hand, and then lay down beside him, remaining still.

“Xiao Bai!” The little one excitedly pulled Xiao Bai into his little blanket, mumbling something incoherent under the covers.

Lu Nong was startled and quickly dragged him out of the blanket, saying seriously, “You can’t cover your head with the blanket to sleep, understand?”

Though the little one didn’t quite get it, in his small mind, when he buried his head in the blanket, the whole world felt as small as the blanket. It had once been just him, but now he wanted to share this secret with Xiao Bai. However, since his mother disagreed, he had no choice but to poke his head out and give Xiao Bai’s little head a gentle tug toward the pillow.

Xiao Bai: “…”

Feeling sympathy for Xiao Bai for a second.

Lu Nong said, “Close your eyes. Mama is right here. Do you want to hear a bedtime story?”

Probably not, because Lu Nong discovered that her son had an amazing skill – falling asleep in seconds.

Gently closing the door, Lu Nong returned to her own bedroom. She thought that if Pei Ji’an hadn’t found her, he would leave. To her surprise, Pei Ji’an was sitting by the window with his eyes closed, resting.

He seemed to really like sitting in that spot. Occasionally, he would read there in the evenings, waiting for Lu Nong to finish her nighttime routine before putting down his book and turning off the lights to sleep together.

Lu Nong hesitated for a moment but decided to step out. Although she and Pei Ji’an had shared the same bed for several days, it had always been at night. In the daytime, she felt a bit out of place.

“Am I that scary?” Pei Ji’an opened his eyes and looked directly at Lu Nong.

“Haha,” Lu Nong chuckled awkwardly. “Not at all.”

It seemed she couldn’t avoid this confrontation today. Gathering her courage, Lu Nong walked toward Pei Ji’an, planning to kneel and apologize swiftly, determined to give him no chance to get angry.

Pei Ji’an looked at Lu Nong who was walking towards him nervously step by step, and was about to say something…

Before he could speak, Lu Nong said, “I was wrong! I shouldn’t have called you old, and I shouldn’t have let my godmother stew tonic for you, causing everyone to misunderstand that you are not that thing… Go ahead and hit me.”

After saying this, she bravely turned her cheek as if accepting her fate. Before Pei Ji’an could react, she added, “I know you’re a soldier and don’t hit your wife. If not, then just scold me.”

Pei Ji’an: “……”

Lu Nong secretly opened one eye to sneak a glance at Pei Ji’an’s expression. When he looked over, she quickly closed her eyes again.

She thought Pei Ji’an hadn’t noticed her little act and reasoned that his expression didn’t seem furious, which made her feel a bit bolder.

Pei Ji’an had witnessed Lu Nong’s dramatic performance and didn’t even blink. He listened as she praised him, her tone surprisingly choked with emotion as she said, “I know you’re broad-minded and kind-hearted, unwilling to scold me. You’ve already forgiven me in your heart, right?”

Pei Ji’an smiled internally, feeling helpless. What kind of treasure had he married? Gu Weiguo, did you plan this all along?

“So, are you unhappy with me?”

“Gah?” The topic changed too quickly for Lu Nong to process. By the time she understood, her face flushed. She wasn’t inexperienced, but hearing such words from the aloof Pei Ji’an left her at a loss.

“If you’re not satisfied, you can try it tonight.” Pei Ji’an stood up, adjusted his hat, and straightened his military uniform. The current style had not yet been modified, and the military outfit suited him perfectly, showcasing his imposing and disciplined aura.

Lu Nong watched him walk out, her hands fidgeting as she wondered what he meant by “try it tonight.”

Was it that her way of apologizing was wrong?