Jiang Shuying suddenly remembered—her husband had told her when he left this morning.
Today there was a special combat training exercise. They were heading out to sea and wouldn't be home for lunch.
Regiment Commander Gu definitely wouldn't be coming back either!
She'd heard that in their household, it was Regiment Commander Gu who went to the mess hall to fetch their meals.
Could it be that she had no lunch today and wanted to come over for a free meal?
Pfft, what was the big deal? Why didn't she just say so earlier!
Jiang Shuying spoke up heartily: "Sister Shen, Regiment Commander Gu isn't coming back for lunch today. Eating alone is so boring—why don't you come over and eat with me and the little one?"
But Shen Yitang waved her hands repeatedly: "No need, no need. My husband left me food for lunch."
How could Gu Huaizheng ever let her go hungry!
That morning, he'd specially prepared cold noodles for her—thinly shredded cucumber strips tossed with soy sauce and vinegar, tangy and wonderfully appetizing.
They were chilling in a bucket of well water!
Ice-cold and refreshing—just the thing for a hot day like this.
"My, Regiment Commander Gu is so considerate." Praising a grown man for being considerate—why did those words feel so awkward!
Since she'd declined, Jiang Shuying didn't dare press further.
Last night, her Regiment Commander Liao had warned her—don't be so eager to offer her warm face to someone else's cold backside.
And don't casually invite people to stay for meals.
That "someone else" specifically meant, of course, Shen Yitang, the capitalist's daughter married into Regiment Commander Gu's family.
To avoid being resented.
To make his point, Liao Mingcheng had even given her a specific example.
He said that not long after Shen Yitang first arrived on the island, someone in the unit was celebrating a happy occasion and hosted a meal at the mess hall for everyone.
Gu Huaizheng had brought Shen Yitang along.
But during the meal, everyone else just picked up their chopsticks and dug in.
Not her, though. That capitalist's daughter pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her bowl and chopsticks over and over again.
Wasn't that slapping the mess hall in the face? Like she thought their dishes weren't clean enough?
It enraged Wu Xiurong, the woman in charge of washing dishes, so much that she stood in the mess hall with her hands on her hips and cursed for three whole days.
Even the hosts of the celebration felt humiliated.
So Liao Mingcheng had specifically instructed her not to go looking for that kind of snub.
Jiang Shuying, for her part, didn't actually think Shen Yitang was as cold and aloof as others made her out to be. Wasn't she a perfectly pleasant girl to get along with!
As for the bowl-wiping thing, that was understandable too.
She'd grown up in a well-off household—what was wrong with being a bit particular?
Jiang Shuying knew those roughnecks at the mess hall all too well! When they washed dishes, they just gave them a quick rinse under the water and called it done. How clean could that possibly be?
Your hand would come away greasy just from touching them.
She hadn't even complained out loud—she just wiped them with her own handkerchief. What was wrong with that?
Some people just insisted on judging others through fixed preconceptions. Even if she was a capitalist's daughter, she'd already married a revolutionary soldier—weren't they allowed to let her learn and improve?
The prejudice in people's hearts—that's the real mountain!
Oh, right—if she wasn't here to mooch a meal, then why had she come? Surely she wasn't so bored that she'd come looking for Jiang Shuying to play with?
Then she heard Shen Yitang say: "Sister-in-law, you're about to start cooking, aren't you? Let me help you in the kitchen!"
Not here to mooch a meal, but to help cook?
Jiang Shuying looked at the big, eager eyes full of curiosity in Shen Yitang's face and understood: "You want to learn how to cook, right?"
Shen Yitang smiled sheepishly: "Yes, I didn't quite get the hang of it yesterday."
Jiang Shuying nodded knowingly: "What's there to worry about? Who ever learns something perfectly on the first try? Keep learning, keep watching, and then practice on your own a few times—you'll get it."
"Sister-in-law, thank you so much!"
"Ahem, as the saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative—there's nothing to thank between us!"
See? Where was the coldness? She was perfectly polite!
And she spoke so pleasantly too—every gesture, every word, every smile was just gorgeous.
What Shen Yitang didn't know was that after she went home, Jiang Shuying secretly stood in front of the mirror by herself, mimicking her speech and mannerisms, covering her face and giggling the whole time.
In her heart, she envied her more than words could say!
One taught earnestly, the other learned diligently. After two or three days, Shen Yitang felt she was ready to graduate.
But she still needed to put it to the test in practice.
Shen Yitang decided to make Gu Huaizheng breakfast tomorrow morning—she'd make the simplest thing: pancakes!
Poor Gu Huaizheng had finally managed to swallow his pride and ask around for information about the condoms.
They weren't available on the island—he'd have to ask someone to buy them on the mainland and mail them over. It would probably be several more days before they arrived.
Day after day, this was harder to endure than when he'd been sleeping on the floor.
Back then, he'd been nursing resentment, so he hadn't been thinking about it.
But now? He could stare right at a big pot of fragrant braised pork sitting before his eyes.
And he knew that braised pork was his.
Yet he had no chopsticks—he couldn't get it into his mouth!
And the aroma kept wafting straight up his nose.
Tell me, how could that not be torment?
"Tangtang, have some pity on me. Look at what I've become. Aren't you afraid you'll drive me crazy? You'll be the one suffering later."
Shen Yitang: "I'm not afraid at all. If you go crazy, even better—then we can have a Platonic spiritual love."
What love? That Pla-what's-his-name thing definitely wasn't something good.
Gu Huaizheng: "Tangtang, I regret it. I shouldn't have agreed to this."
"A gentleman's word is his bond."
"What if I don't want to be a gentleman anymore?"
"If you're not a gentleman, then you can be a bear! I won't let a bear touch me!"
Gu Huaizheng gritted his teeth hard: "You just wait!"
Shen Yitang patted his big head to soothe him: "Don't be mad. I'll give you a surprise tomorrow."
"What surprise?"
"You'll find out tomorrow morning."
"Then you might as well not have said anything. Telling me half and leaving half—how am I supposed to sleep tonight?"
Gu Huaizheng suddenly used his strength to pull her up and place her on top of him: "Believe me, if I can't sleep, I won't let you sleep either!"
Shen Yitang put on a stern face: "Fine. Tomorrow's surprise is canceled."
Gu Huaizheng panicked: "No, don't! I was just joking with you!"
"Then shut up right now and sleep properly. If you're not asleep within a minute, the surprise is gone."
Gu Huaizheng immediately closed his eyes and let out an extremely exaggerated snore.
This made Shen Yitang so angry she pinched him hard: "You are just so annoying!"
Gu Huaizheng burst out laughing, stretching his long arms to lock her tightly in his embrace: "Annoying is fine. No matter how annoying I am, you still have to let me hold you while I sleep."
His long arms and legs draped over her, heavy and solid. Shen Yitang felt utterly helpless.
Yet within that heaviness, she felt the warmth and steadiness she had yearned for but never attained during those ten lonely years in an empty room.
Before she knew it, she fell asleep.
Because she had something on her mind, she woke up very early.
Even before the reveille bugle had sounded, Shen Yitang was already awake.
Struggling to overcome her attachment to the bed, she climbed out of it with difficulty. Just as she was about to get up, she was suddenly pulled back by a large hand: "Where are you going?"
"Stop it, I need to make breakfast."
"What?" Gu Huaizheng rubbed his ear, wondering if he had heard correctly.