Su Qi’an turned her head slightly and coughed softly, murmuring a quiet thanks. “Thank you.”
Although they already had a marriage certificate and even a child, Su Qi’an didn’t remember anything from before. To her, Huo Zheng was still basically a stranger. Being suddenly close to a strange man naturally made her feel awkward and uncomfortable.
Seeing how polite she was being, Huo Zheng felt a little displeased. His voice cooled. “Heh, Su Qi’an, when did I ever notice you being this polite to me before?”
Su Qi’an looked at him suspiciously. Why was he suddenly changing his attitude again? He was even more unpredictable than a woman.
“Was I really not polite to you before?” she asked back, genuinely curious about their past.
Mentioning the past made Huo Zheng’s expression darken. He looked at her deeply, the corners of his lips lifting in a self-mocking way.
Not just not polite—she hadn’t even liked him.
A chill ran down Su Qi’an’s spine. She suddenly had a bad feeling.
And indeed—
The next second, the man gave a cold “Mm.”
Su Qi’an: “!!!”
How could that be?
But thinking about it, over the past two days, he had been like a hardworking ox, going to work and rushing back to cook. Most of the chores at home were also done by him. Meanwhile, she mostly just took care of the child and did laundry—she really did seem much more relaxed than him.
A trace of guilt flashed in Su Qi’an’s eyes.
She weakly defended herself, “That… you said it was the past. I don’t remember it anyway.”
She truly didn’t remember anything from before. How was she supposed to know if he was telling the truth?
Once she thought of this, her guilt vanished completely—and she didn’t notice the strange expression that flickered across Huo Zheng’s face when she said she didn’t remember.
He had already suspected she might have lost her memory, which was why she agreed to marry him. But it had never been confirmed, so he still held some doubts.
Now that she had personally admitted it, his suspicion was confirmed—and he felt something indescribable in his heart.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, just living like this.
Huo Zheng thought.
His throat moved. “You really don’t remember anything from before?”
Su Qi’an tried hard to recall. Suddenly, her head throbbed sharply. Her face went pale, her body swayed as if she was about to fall.
Huo Zheng quickly caught her. “If you can’t remember, then don’t think about it.”
Anyway, those weren’t good memories.
Su Qi’an weakly nodded. “Mm.”
Whenever she tried to think back, it felt like needles stabbing into her head—painful beyond endurance.
“Alright. Go to sleep.”
The next morning, breakfast was once again made early by Huo Zheng—just like yesterday, it was meat porridge. He held the child in one arm while stirring the pot with the other hand.
Little Huo Jibei lay on his shoulder, holding a milk bottle and drinking happily, sucking rhythmically with his tiny mouth—adorable beyond words.
After finishing his milk, he tossed the bottle aside. Huo Zheng glanced at it sideways and said coolly, “Good. No milk for you tomorrow.”
Then, right in front of him, he kicked the bottle farther away.
Little Huo Jibei immediately widened his eyes, his tiny brows furrowing in anger. He let out a loud “ah!” and bit down on his father’s neck with his toothless gums.
Huo Zheng felt the sticky milk saliva all over his neck and grimaced in disgust.
“Tch. Huo Dogdan, if you don’t let go, I’ll smack your mouth crooked.”
Everyone who knew Huo Zheng knew he had no patience, a rough temper, and a streak of bad behavior buried deep in his bones. When he got serious, he was genuinely intimidating.
Little Huo Jibei glared at him angrily for a moment, then finally let go.
The tiny face—so much like Su Qi’an’s—made Huo Zheng feel both annoyed and fond at the same time.
So young, yet already so temperamental.
When Su Qi’an woke up, breakfast was just ready. Seeing her, little Huo Jibei’s eyes lit up. He stretched out his arms toward her, eager to be held.
Seeing how desperate he was to escape his father’s arms, Huo Zheng pulled him back.
“Am I that unbearable to hold you?”
Su Qi’an smiled softly and said gently, “Let Mommy wash her face first, then I’ll hold you.”
Only then did the little one withdraw his hands, making soft “ah ah” sounds.
Su Qi’an clearly saw the little expression of dissatisfaction when he returned to Huo Zheng’s arms—and how he immediately brightened again once she took him.
Such a little clever thing!
She laughed indulgently.
After breakfast, Huo Zheng went to work. Before leaving, he specifically told her not to touch the two plots of land outside and to wait for him.
But she refused. She had nothing to do at home anyway and might as well weed the fields.
After he left, she washed the clothes. When she finished, it was still early, so she decided to take a walk.
Behind the Red Star Production Brigade lay continuous mountains. From afar, one could see people rushing to harvest crops. Even though it was already the tail end of the busy season, everyone was still working urgently.
Men, tired from work, would occasionally glance up at her as she passed.
There was no helping it—Su Qi’an stood out too much. Even wearing the simplest cyan dress, she was a rare sight among people dressed in black, gray, and blue. And her fair skin, untainted by sunburn in this rural era, made her even more striking.
When the men stared too long, their wives would twist them hard.
“Stop looking! Even if you look, she wouldn’t want you!”
Then they would spit in Su Qi’an’s direction: “Tch, shameless vixen. Dressing like that for who, exactly?”
The men retorted, “Hmph, if she’d pick me, what would I need you for?”
After all, Su Qi’an had once been the “moonlight” and “first love” of many men in the brigade. She was beautiful—just from a poor background.
One woman got furious, threw down her hoe, and shouted, “Fine, Liu Dagen, so that’s what you think! Men really are cheap—what you can’t get is always the best!”
“Do the work yourself! I’m not doing it anymore!”
She turned and left.
The surrounding people watched the drama unfold with amusement.
Liu Dagen couldn’t stand losing face in front of others. “Fine! Don’t come crawling back later!”
“Who cares!” the woman spat back, and as she passed Su Qi’an, she even shoved her shoulder hard.
Su Qi’an didn’t understand what had just happened. She only thought the woman was unreasonable.
Not far away—
Huo Zheng and Zhao Yingjun were loafing around in the field. The brigade leader looked at them with frustration but eventually walked away, too annoyed to scold them anymore.
Zhao Yingjun was lazily cutting corn stalks when he suddenly spotted someone approaching.
He nudged the man beside him. “Hey, Brother Zheng—sister-in-law’s here!”