Chapter 34: Li Xiangbei Moves into the Side Room

Li Xiangbei stood in the center of the room, his gaze slowly sweeping across every corner. This room carried the memories of his childhood and youth.

He stuffed the last of his remaining belongings into a cloth bag.

Over the past few weeks, he had already moved most of his things into the small home he shared with Su Yue. The rest could now fit into just one bag.

Tightening the knot on the bag, Li Xiangbei took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked toward the courtyard.

Through the window, Zhang Cuihua saw her youngest son unlocking his bicycle. Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly pushed open the window and asked, “Xiangbei, it’s already dark outside, where are you going?”

Li Xiangbei’s voice was filled with grievance and defiance: “Mom, that room’s been dirtied. I don’t want it anymore.”

With that, he pushed his bicycle and left without looking back. Zhang Cuihua rushed out barefoot, not even bothering to put on her shoes.

But by the time she reached the gate, her youngest son had already vanished into the night.

Just then, Li Jianguo came out of the toilet and saw his wife looking anxious at the entrance. “What’s going on? Where’s Xiangbei?”

Zhang Cuihua frowned and sighed, “He’s gone. Xiangbei’s left.”

After leaving the Li household, Li Xiangbei felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. He pedaled faster, and before long, he was home.

In the past two weeks, Su Dahai and Shen Dongxu had helped move over all the furniture. Li Xiangbei and Su Yue had cleaned the house thoroughly. It was fully ready for living. But Li Xiangbei still wanted to move into the main bedroom with Su Yue.

Instead, he opened the door to the side room. He brought in a basin of water, wiped down the kang (a traditional heated brick bed), laid a mat on it, took a bath, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Su Yue put some milk candies in her satchel. Once at the office, she handed a handful of them each to Li Shufen and Wu Yuxia, receiving warm congratulations in return.

Word of Su Yue’s marriage quickly spread after Wang Qiuya found out and helped pass the news along. By lunchtime, many acquaintances greeted Su Yue with smiles and wishes of happiness, which she returned with a cheerful smile.

At the canteen, Su Yue saw Zhang Cuihua. She couldn’t bring herself to call her “Mom” directly, and “mother-in-law” felt too formal, so she simply said, “Ma.”

Zhang Cuihua beamed instantly, her eyes crinkling into narrow slits. “One dish isn’t enough—go grab a steamed bun too!”

Su Yue smiled, “Don’t worry, Ma. I’ll eat till I’m full.” She stepped aside to make room. As she turned to leave, she heard Zhang Cuihua proudly telling someone nearby, “That’s my daughter-in-law.”

Back at the dorm, Wang Qiuya sighed with emotion, “Yueyue, we’re the same age, but you’re already married. Meanwhile, my love life’s nonexistent. I was just so timid back in school.”

Su Yue sensed there was more to that story. Before she could ask, Wang Qiuya began pouring her heart out: “In high school, I liked a boy in my class. He wore glasses, was gentle, and was among the top students. I was too shy to confess. By the time I mustered the courage, he was headed to the countryside as a sent-down youth. I never liked anyone else after that.”

Su Yue swallowed a bite of potato and said, “But he left for the countryside—those postings last at least three years. You’re not still waiting for him, are you?”

Wang Qiuya sighed again, then noticed the potato-and-eggplant dish in Su Yue’s lunchbox and asked, surprised, “Yueyue, there’s meat today. Why are you eating vegetarian again?”

Su Yue smiled, “Don’t worry. I’ll get a meat dish after work tonight.”

Wang Qiuya frowned and spoke earnestly, “Yueyue, my mom always says girls need to take care of themselves. Don’t always put men first. Don’t skip meat just to save it for a man!”

Seeing Wang Qiuya was genuinely concerned, Su Yue smiled and explained, “You misunderstood. Today’s meat dish is braised pork—I don’t like fatty meat. I’ll get some later and eat the lean parts. The fatty bits are for Xiangbei.”

Wang Qiuya finally nodded in satisfaction. “Yueyue, I actually lied earlier. It wasn’t that I was too shy to confess. When I heard he was being sent to the countryside, I gave up on telling him. He even confessed to me and asked me to go with him. But no way—I wasn’t about to suffer in the countryside just because he was handsome.”

After work, Su Yue picked up dinner from the canteen and headed home. The weather was too hot to cook.

Besides, with her and Li Xiangbei’s combined monthly salary exceeding sixty yuan, eating in the canteen daily wasn’t a problem.

Especially with the extra income from Youlan Courtyard.

From a distance, Su Yue saw the courtyard gate wide open and knew Li Xiangbei was home. Procurement clerks at the supply and marketing cooperative got off at exactly 5:30 PM if they weren’t working overtime. She smiled and pushed open the gate, closing it behind her.

Li Xiangbei came out beaming. “Wife, you’re home!”

Su Yue raised the lunchbox. “The canteen had braised pork today.”

Li Xiangbei took the box and grinned. “Wife, you’re so good to me.”

While they ate, Li Xiangbei told Su Yue about what had happened at his family’s house, his tone full of grievance. “Wife, I moved out. I’ll sleep in the side room for now.”

Su Yue thought the eldest sister-in-law was far trickier than the second.

“Where did you eat this morning and at lunch?”

“At home. I cooked some porridge in the morning and stir-fried a cucumber at noon.”

“Well then, you can handle breakfast yourself. For lunch and dinner, if I don’t feel like cooking, I’ll bring food from the canteen.”

Li Xiangbei nodded enthusiastically, glowing with happiness. “Wife, you treat me so well!”

After dinner, Su Yue went to the side room. When she opened the door, she saw a plain grass mat on the brick bed, with only a pillow—everything looked particularly sparse in the dim light. Her brow instantly furrowed.

“How did you sleep like this last night?”

Li Xiangbei followed behind her, scratching his head and smiling sheepishly. “Don’t worry, wife. I slept great last night.”

Su Yue looked at him with concern. “Go bring the mattress from the master bedroom. It’s thicker and more comfortable. Also, get the mosquito net from the closet. Summer is long—we can’t go without one.”

Li Xiangbei hesitated, a bit reluctant. “But all that’s brand-new. I was saving it for when we moved in together.”

“These mattresses and mosquito nets can be bought anytime in the village—they’re not rare goods.” Seeing that he still wanted to argue, Su Yue put her hands on her hips and pretended to scold him, “Didn’t you say you’d listen to everything I said after we got married? We just got the marriage certificate, and now you’re arguing with me?”

Li Xiangbei quickly waved his hands, his face full of smiles. “Wife, I was just thinking—I must’ve done a lot of good in my past life to marry someone as wonderful as you.”

“Smooth talker! Get moving!”