Gu Huaizheng entered the door again, trembling with trepidation.
"Is—is anyone home?"
The woman who was always cold and aloof came out to greet him with a look of gentle virtue, and she was even wearing an apron.
Her naturally slender waist, cinched by the apron, showed off an even more striking curve.
Gu Huaizheng's gaze unconsciously darkened.
"Huaizheng, you're back?" Shen Yitang said softly.
Had the sun risen from the west today?
What had he, Gu Huaizheng, done to deserve such tenderness and warmth from Shen Yitang?
"You—what are you—"
A hearty, loud voice rang out from beside them: "Oh, Regiment Commander Gu is back! Hang on, dinner will be ready soon."
What on earth was going on? Gu Huaizheng was even more bewildered.
Shen Yitang: "Sister Shuying is from Regiment Commander Liao's family, who just moved in next door. I invited Sister Shuying over to teach me how to cook, and since she's here, their family will eat with us too."
"You—learning to cook? Why would you want to learn to cook?"
Gu Huaizheng found it utterly unbelievable. How could such a stroke of good fortune possibly land on his head?
A man's dream: a wife, children, and a warm bed, coming home every day to a hot meal.
But ever since he'd married Shen Yitang, Gu Huaizheng had stopped having such dreams.
Expecting her to roll up her sleeves and cook for him? He might as well wish for world peace—that would be easier to achieve!
In the past two days, her temperament had changed drastically, and she was willing to be close to him. He'd already thanked heaven and earth, grateful that the heavens had finally opened their eyes.
And now she said she wanted to learn to cook?
Shen Yitang smiled even more gently: "Since we've started a family, we should live our lives properly. Eating at the mess hall all the time—what kind of life is that?"
Jiang Shuying: "Regiment Commander Gu, would you mind going to fetch our Old Liao? We can eat right away."
That noon was the first time in Gu Huaizheng's life that he ate a meal in his own home that hadn't been brought back from the mess hall.
Regiment Commander Liao, on the other hand, was noticeably ill at ease in front of Shen Yitang, even the sound of his eating growing quieter.
But he still smacked his lips. He and Jiang Shuying, husband and wife, along with their five- or six-year-old child, all smacked their lips while eating.
Gu Huaizheng was afraid Shen Yitang might be displeased, so he stole several glances at her. Seeing that she was perfectly fine, still smiling brightly, he finally relaxed.
Jiang Shuying was a diligent woman. After the meal, she cleared the dishes, washed them clean, and tidied up the entire kitchen before leaving.
The moment she was gone, Gu Huaizheng couldn't wait to grab Shen Yitang's hand: "You must have worked hard. Let me see—are you hurt? Are you tired?"
Shen Yitang pulled her hand away: "Tired of what? Sister Shuying did everything. I just stood by and watched to learn!"
"Did you learn?"
"I did. How hard can cooking be?" Shen Yitang said with absolute certainty.
Gu Huaizheng looked at her, grinning like a fool the whole time.
His smile made Shen Yitang's skin crawl. She gave him a shove: "What are you doing!"
But Gu Huaizheng held her tight and refused to let go: "You just said you wanted to live a proper life with me."
Living a proper life—they were just the simplest words, yet somehow, spoken aloud, they made a person feel as if they'd drunk honey, sweet all the way to the bottom of the heart.
"If we're living a life, then live it—what's with the wandering hands!" Shen Yitang frowned. "Let go of me. You're covered in sweat. You stink."
"I'll go wash up." Gu Huaizheng immediately began stripping off his clothes.
Revealing his sturdy, muscular chest.
In broad daylight.
Shen Yitang was not nearly as thick-skinned as he was, and quickly turned around. "Can't you be a little more reserved?"
"I'm a man. In front of my own wife, I don't need to be reserved."
Even as he spoke, he had already stripped off his trousers, leaving only a pair of shorts. He strode over to the well in the courtyard, drew up some water, and poured it over himself.
Shen Yitang said, "It's the middle of the day. Why are you washing up now? You still have training this afternoon—you'll just get another set of clothes dirty for nothing."
"Heh heh, I don't mind. Once I'm clean, I'll keep you company for your afternoon nap."
"I don't need you to keep me company."
"But I want to keep you company." Gu Huaizheng lathered himself all over with soap, then dumped another bucket of water from head to toe, instantly fresh and clean.
By the time Shen Yitang returned to the room, he had already dried himself off, changed into a clean pair of shorts, and hopped onto the bed in one leap.
He wrapped his arms around Shen Yitang. "Smell me—I'm all clean."
Shen Yitang turned her head away. "I'm not going to—"
But he firmly pressed her head against his chest. "Tangtang, I'm really happy."
Shen Yitang's heart softened, and she stopped resisting, nestling gently against his chest.
In the cool mist of water, there was the scent of soap, along with the crisp, pleasant smell that was uniquely his.
She poked at his firm, springy chest muscles with her slender fingers. "What are you so happy about?"
"You're willing to live a proper life with me, willing to cook for me, and willing to associate with people who smack their lips when they eat, all for my sake…"
"So you actually wanted to live a proper life too, huh? I thought…" Shen Yitang couldn't quite bring herself to say it.
"Thought what?" Gu Huaizheng pressed.
"I thought your head was full of nothing but that kind of thing!"
"Of course, that kind of thing is important too. If you were willing to let me sleep with you every day, even if you went back to doing nothing like before, throwing tantrums all day and ignoring people, I'd still treat you well."
Shen Yitang: …
This man always had a way of shattering any perfect atmosphere.
"Did you get that thing I asked you to get?"
Gu Huaizheng stiffened. "Not yet!"
"Then what are you doing right now?"
Gu Huaizheng said pitifully, "It's not something I can control myself."
"Then stay away from me. I'm telling you, without that thing, I won't let you have your way, and in the end, you'll only be the one suffering."
"I won't. I'd rather die of frustration than not hold you."
"Let me just rub against you."
"You go to sleep. Don't worry about me."
In the middle of summer, with this long-limbed man wrapped around her so tightly, so blatantly making his presence known—
How could Shen Yitang possibly fall asleep?
"If you keep this up, I'm not cooking dinner for you tonight."
Gu Huaizheng said, "I can eat at the mess hall too."
He knew very well which was more important.
Shen Yitang really wanted to crack open his head and see if it was all just filth inside.
Fortunately, he did keep his word—though the more important reason was that the afternoon break was limited.
Gu Huaizheng couldn't lie there for long before he had to get up and go to work.
Before leaving, he leaned over the edge of the bed and kissed her hard several times. "Wait for me to come back."
Shen Yitang ignored him, dozing for a while longer before slowly getting up.
She read for a bit, then brought in the clothes that had been drying outside in the sun.
She checked the time and decided to go cook.
And that was when she discovered that knowing something in your head and knowing it in your hands were two completely different things.
Just watching Sister Shuying make it at noon, it seemed so simple—something anyone with hands could do. But when she actually tried it herself, she realized just how difficult it was. It simply wouldn't obey her at all!