Over the next few days, Shang Yinyin spent her nights writing her novel while Shang Niannian slept, and worked in the fields during the day. Three days passed, and knowing that Xie Quanzhou needed time to apply for leave, she remained patient and gave him some breathing room. During this time, she even managed to sew two new outfits for him, using up most of the ten meters of fabric she had bought.
With her novel nearly finished, Shang Yinyin planned to make another trip into town over the next couple of days.
As evening settled, she was in the courtyard picking vegetables for dinner. In the countryside, meat wasn’t an everyday luxury; this season brought an abundance of leafy greens, so meals generally consisted of vegetables and coarse grains. The water spinach grew especially lush right now, and stir-frying it with a bit of lard made it smell wonderfully fragrant.
“Eating this watery stuff every day at home has me so drained I can barely work!” Shang Niannian complained limply. At school, she could at least count on getting meat during one of her daily meals—portions might be small, but it provided enough stamina. She had been back for three days now, and outside of the meat buns her sister bought on arrival and the preserved mustard greens with pork belly that first evening, they hadn’t even tasted white rice since.
“Just bear with it for a little longer. Tomorrow I’ll check the village entrance to see if anyone is selling meat,” Shang Yinyin murmured, figuring she still had some money left to buy a bit of protein.
Just then, Xie Quanzhou appeared at the doorway, overhearing the two sisters’ conversation. A wave of heartache washed over him at the thought of them going without meat for days.
“Yinyin?”
Hearing that familiar voice, Shang Yinyin snapped her head toward the entrance.
“Brother-in-law!” Shang Niannian cried out in sheer disbelief upon seeing him.
Tears instantly blurred Shang Yinyin’s vision. Dropping the greens in her hands, she sprinted straight toward him.
“Quanzhou-ge!” She used the affectionate childhood nickname from her past life, completely overcome by surprise and joy as tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.
“I’m back. I’m so sorry, Yinyin—I let you suffer,” Xie Quanzhou said, gazing at her with deep tenderness. He had been practically buzzing with excitement for the past three days straight.
“I thought… you didn’t want me anymore. Your neighbors said you got married and abandoned me,” Shang Yinyin sobbed, pouring out the grievance she had bottled up. She had been so heartbroken that she hadn’t even made it to Beijing to visit her younger brother before rushing back.
“I didn’t! You’re the only one in my heart. Don’t listen to their nonsense,” Xie Quanzhou comforted her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
Buried in his chest, Shang Yinyin finally let go of all her pent-up sorrow.
Staring wide-eyed at the public display of affection in broad daylight, Shang Niannian quickly snapped to her senses. She hurried over, pushed her brother-in-law’s back to usher him inside, darted a quick, furtive glance outside to ensure no one was watching, and slammed the door shut. She then took up a post by the door to play lookout.
Shang Yinyin clung to Xie Quanzhou, drinking in the warmth of his embrace. In her previous life, Xie Quanzhou hadn’t made it back before she died, denying them even a final farewell. And after he eventually passed away, he had lacked any will to live simply because the wife who gave his life meaning was gone.
“How did you get back so fast? And how did you find our address?” Shang Yinyin suddenly realized she had never given him their specific location; she wondered how he had tracked her down. In her past life, he had spent ages searching through the municipal police station before finally making his way here, stopping every villager he met to ask for directions until he finally located their home.
“I got the address from Secretary Chen, and Uncle Niu pointed me the right way,” Xie Quanzhou explained gently, pulling back slightly to look at her.
Outside the door, Shang Niannian was already buzzing with excitement to fetch her mother—such wonderful news demanded an immediate family report.
With red-rimmed eyes, Shang Yinyin tilted her head up, studying him intently. “You look exactly the same as when you left. Not a single thing has changed.”
“My Yinyin hasn’t changed either—only gotten prettier.” In Xie Quanzhou’s eyes, Shang Yinyin was an absolute beauty.
A startled laugh escaped her lips. “You’re just talking nonsense. I’m scrawny and plain, how could I be pretty?”
“In my eyes, you’re always beautiful.” Noting how much weight she had lost, Xie Quanzhou said, “With me here now, I’m going to make sure you’re well-fed and healthy.”
Blushing fiercely, Shang Yinyin lowered her head and buried it back against his chest. A second later, she snapped out of it, looked up, and asked, “Are you tired? Are you hungry?”
“You must be tired from the journey—let me finish cooking, dinner will be ready soon,” she added, trying to pull him inside.
Instead, Xie Quanzhou shut the front door securely and wrapped his arms around her even tighter, making her face burn crimson. He caught the clean, fresh scent of her skin mingled with a faint hint of soap—a subtle, soothing fragrance.
“Yinyin, this time when I came back, I’m taking you away from here to stay by my side from now on. I’m done with special operations; I’ll be working regular duties in the military unit. We can live together quarters-style, and whenever I’m off duty, we can be together every single day. Will you come with me?” Xie Quanzhou had officially stepped away from special forces work to transition into standard military life. “Before we leave, we’ll get our marriage certificate sorted, and I’ll take you home to meet my parents before settling down at my post.”
Hearing this, Shang Yinyin felt no surprise at all—only an overwhelming wave of happiness so intense it brought tears to her eyes, causing her to freeze without an immediate answer.
Mistaking her silence for reluctance, he added softly, “If you don’t want to go, it’s fine. I’ll just come back to visit whenever I have time off.”
“Of course I’m willing to go! Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be,” Shang Yinyin blurted out. In her past life, the time they spent together had been far too brief, and the happy moments even scarcer. She refused to miss out or lose her beloved ever again.
“Really? Life over there can be quite dull. Most days you won’t have much to do besides cooking three meals a day, and it’ll be a long while before you can find outside work. It’s not particularly remote, but with nothing to occupy your time, it might get boring.” Xie Quanzhou knew Shang Yinyin was a diligent person; moving over there meant she wouldn’t have any heavy labor to do, which might drive her stir-crazy. But he also couldn’t bear to let her keep working herself to the bone here—resting at home all day wouldn’t hurt, and he was more than capable of providing for her anyway. Besides, the living conditions there were roughly comparable to this village.
“It’s fine. As long as I can look out the door and see you every day, I’ll be completely content.” Not having to break her back with hard labor sounded like heaven anyway.
“Alright. I’ll make sure to convince your aunt so she lets you come with me.” Xie Quanzhou still refused to let go of her, holding her tightly in his arms.
Shang Yinyin had rarely been this physically close to him in their past life. Suddenly caught in such an intimate embrace and forced into quiet stillness, a wave of shyness washed over her.
“Let go of me! I still have to make dinner,” she protested, suddenly remembering that evening’s cooking was unfinished. “You need to rest for a bit.”
“I’m fine, I slept plenty on the train. I’ll help you cook.”
True to his word, Xie Quanzhou rolled up his sleeves the moment he got back, refusing to sit idle.
Watching him step up to help, Shang Yinyin murmured apologetically, “I’m afraid you’ll have to rough it tonight—we don’t really have much food in the house.”
“It’s fine, I can eat anything,” Xie Quanzhou replied as he walked back to fetch his luggage and stow it away in the bedroom.
As Shang Yinyin went back to sorting vegetables, Xie Quanzhou emerged carrying a canvas bag. “I bought some cured pork in the city, and brought some dried shrimp and dried squid back from the military base.”
A helpless, affectionate smile spread across her face as she looked at him. “You barely stepped foot in the house and already you’re upgrading our entire menu.”
Deep down, a twinge of guilt remained. Her family had treated him like an endless resource to draw from, scheming to marry her off to him purely because they needed a working-age man around the house. In truth, Shang Yinyin had been selfish too; even though she could have found a way out of the forced marriage to the village chief’s son on her own, she had still relied on Xie Quanzhou’s return to save her.
“Now that I’m back, I won’t let you suffer another day,” Xie Quanzhou replied, already diving into the kitchen prep work.
Once she finished sorting the greens, Shang Yinyin walked into the kitchen, wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, and pressed her face against his back.