If she wasn’t actually pregnant, it would’ve just been an empty delight for nothing, which made the son-in-law a little awkward.
Moreover, if there really was a child, neither of them would have been so intense last night.
She really was getting old, Xu’s mother shook her head, thinking she was overthinking things.
Xu Zhixia ate the meal with great satisfaction.
During the apocalypse, clean meals like this were rare. Even with her space, eating alone didn’t feel very enjoyable.
Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Xu’s mother stood up:
“All right, you young ones go upstairs and rest. I’ll take a day off; this place is in my hands.”
Leaving her at home doing nothing, she really couldn’t sit still she was born to work.
Lu Xiuyuan realized he couldn’t compete with his mother-in-law, so he didn’t bother being polite either.
Seeing that Xu Zhixia looked much better, he also went upstairs with her.
Following behind, Xu Zhixia saw Lu Xiuyuan head straight for his study.
In her past life, Xu Zhixia couldn’t stand sharing a bed with anyone.
So even after they were married, Lu Xiuyuan was often sent to the study to sleep.
She hurried to the study door, glanced at him, and then lowered her head:
“You… you should sleep in the master bedroom today.”
Even though his talk of divorce had been hurtful, one shouldn’t judge a man by what he says only by what he does.
Earlier, he had cooked her favorite meal and protected her in front of her father and brother.
So now, it was her turn to be humble.
Lu Xiuyuan’s hand, poised to open the door, froze midair:
“What are you thinking? I’m going to change clothes. Didn’t you want me to check on Bai Jingya?”
Xu Zhixia realized she had misunderstood him and quickly stepped aside:
“Then, go ahead.”
Lu Xiuyuan entered the study, pulled clothes from the wardrobe, leaving the door open.
With his back to her, he removed his upper shirt.
Xu Zhixia didn’t expect to see this without returning to her own room.
The T-shirt came off, revealing defined muscles.
Under the dim light, his back lines were incredibly clear just looking at them, one could imagine the power contained within.
Xu Zhixia’s breath caught; such perfect abs belonged to her.
She hadn’t realized their value in the past, but now she saw they were a treasure.
She longed to trace them with her fingers, to map out that terrain.
Her expression, caught by Lu Xiuyuan the moment he turned, did not escape his notice.
His eyes darkened. She had always hated that he noticed her admiring those honey-colored abs.
But today, her expression didn’t seem fake.
Caught red-handed, Xu Zhixia cleared her throat and returned to her room.
Tomorrow, she had to visit her grandfather and pick out an appropriate outfit.
Back in her room, she stared at her wardrobe of unusual clothing, feeling overwhelmed.
Finally, she chose a bright yellow dress youthful but not flashy.
After picking her outfit, exhaustion hit her.
She lay down and fell asleep. Lu Xiuyuan hadn’t returned yet, so she left the lights on.
This small matter checking on Bai Jingya could have easily been done with a phone call, but he had chosen to go personally to see his old friend Chen Fangyuan.
Chen Fangyuan was surprised to see him carrying two bottles of wine:
“Wow, brother! What wind blew you here?”
He sniffed the wine:
“This is good stuff. Did you get divorced?”
He had long seen his friend grow increasingly subdued in this unhealthy marriage, which irritated him.
Lu Xiuyuan laughed and cursed:
“Get lost.”
Then he poured him a drink:
“The matter I mentioned on the phone give me results in two days.”
Chen Fangyuan sighed:
“I know, I know. You’re already divorced and still dealing with someone else’s past? This happened over ten years ago we’ll need to investigate carefully.”
He took a sip of the fine wine, smacked his lips, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Such nights chatting with a brother, drinking, smoking how beautiful life could be.
Marriage was troublesome.
His mother constantly urged him to go on blind dates, but fortunately he had Lu Xiuyuan as an example.
Wouldn’t marriage be more troublesome than being single?
His mother even said it was fine to divorce later, but the marriage had to happen.
Thinking of all this, he took another swig of wine.
He realized Lu Xiuyuan hadn’t snatched the cigarette from him, which was unusual whenever he came home on leave, smoking at meals was forbidden because of someone at home who couldn’t stand the smell.
This time, nothing was said.
He suddenly thought of something and offered a cigarette to Lu Xiuyuan:
“Here, smoke.”
Unexpectedly, Lu Xiuyuan took it, and he quickly lit it for him:
“What, the sun rose in the west? You really got divorced?”
Lu Xiuyuan drank all the baijiu in his cup:
“Yes, divorced.”
Chen Fangyuan, ready to gloat, found himself choked up.
Looking at his brother under the moonlight, he felt an inexplicable loneliness.
The last time he saw him like this was during their first deployment, when they had killed someone.
He raised the bottle and poured:
“Drink, drink until you drop.”
Since joining the army, they rarely drank, always wary of delaying tasks.
Saying “drink until you drop” was just a phrase really, only two bottles.
You can’t get drunk on just that, but sometimes, the body gets drunk anyway.
After a few drinks, Lu Xiuyuan finally spoke:
“I have a friend who doesn’t understand something. You know a lot, so I’ll ask for him.”
Chen Fangyuan gave him a strange look:
“Go ahead.”
Lu Xiuyuan paused, then said:
“A woman threatened to divorce with a wrist-cut in the morning, but in the afternoon refuses to divorce. Why is that?”
How could someone’s temperament change so drastically?
Chen Fangyuan’s eyes widened like copper bells he wasn’t drunk.
Everyone knew who that “friend” was.
But he was astonished.
Lu Xiuyuan his background, his appearance, the attention he attracted even before joining the army was someone many women liked.
Even after joining the military, his superiors wanted to set him up.
He had used a childhood engagement to fend them off.
Yet this man was spilling his heart about a relationship in the middle of the night?
Plenty of fish in the sea why obsess over one flower?
He didn’t understand love either.
But on this question, Lu Xiuyuan had an answer:
“The first reason is that someone outside abandoned her, leaving her without support.”
“The second reason is that she has ulterior motives.”
He didn’t believe in sudden awakenings anyway.
Lu Xiuyuan inhaled deeply, smoke swirling, hiding his expression.
When he returned to the marital room, it was already 3 a.m.
He remembered her standing in front of him, blocking the master bedroom.
Now going there would probably make her furious again, leading to another fight.
When Xu Zhixia woke the next day, she found her bed as it had been.
The light on the ceiling was still on.
Her heart sank halfway.
Lu Xiuyuan hadn’t returned to sleep the night before.