After dinner, Gu Huaizheng washed the dishes and, in passing, boiled some hot water so Shen Yitang could take a bath.
She was particular like that—she had to bathe every single day, and that head of hair, smooth as silk satin, needed washing every two or three days as well.
To make her bathing experience more comfortable, Gu Huaizheng had even gone out of his way to install a drainage system in one of the rooms and convert it into a bathroom.
Shen Yitang dawdled in the bathroom for over an hour before finally emerging at a leisurely pace, carrying the intoxicating fragrance of her bath.
She sat in a rattan chair in the courtyard to let her hair dry, rolling up the loose sleeves and pant legs of her silk pajamas to slather moisturizing cream over her arms and legs.
That skin of hers—smooth and delicate as milk—was maintained exactly this way.
When Gu Huaizheng first learned how particular she was, he'd been stunned speechless.
The kind of face cream others could barely bring themselves to spare for their faces, she slathered generously all over her body without a hint of reluctance.
When she'd first moved in, she'd had an entire large trunk filled with her daily toiletries.
There was shampoo for her hair, soap for washing her face and body, hair oil for conditioning, and various creams and lotions for different parts of the body.
Gu Huaizheng had never even heard of such things before, let alone known where to buy them.
It was true what they said—she was a capitalist's daughter through and through. Even with her family fallen from grace, the life she lived was beyond anything ordinary people could imagine.
He still remembered when she first arrived, her luggage being unpacked. A nosy auntie from next door had come over to gawk.
Seeing the trunk full of items, she'd been too shocked to close her mouth. "So much! You could never use all this in a lifetime! You're not planning to resell them, are you?"
The capitalist instinct for speculation and profiteering never dies?
Shen Yitang had let out a light scoff. "This isn't even that much. I just brought a little extra since I was afraid I wouldn't be able to buy these things here. They'll be gone before long."
That one remark had successfully opened a chasm between her and the working masses.
The auntie had secretly observed her for a long time afterward, and only after confirming that she wasn't engaged in any buying-and-selling schemes did she finally believe that those things really were all for Shen Yitang's personal use.
Damned capitalist!
Gu Huaizheng tried to distract himself with idle thoughts, but those snow-white arms and legs still swirled uncontrollably through his mind.
He was certain—that woman had done it on purpose.
Usually, she guarded against him like he was a thief. She'd apply all those creams inside the bathroom and only come out afterward, unwilling to give him even a glimpse.
But today she was deliberately out here exposing her arms and legs. If that wasn't intentional, what was?
Hmph. He, Gu Huaizheng, was a man of integrity, a steadfast revolutionary soldier. He wouldn't succumb to the corrosion of such sugar-coated bullets.
He quietly turned his head and wiped beneath his nose. Good—it held up. No nosebleed.
Shen Yitang waited and waited, but Gu Huaizheng didn't go take his bath. Instead, he fussed around here and there, pretending to be terribly busy.
She suddenly realized—he seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move.
She really wanted to see just how long he could hold out.
But in the end, Shen Yitang's heart softened. She'd just resolved to be nicer to him, so she might as well give him some face.
She spoke in a soft, gentle voice: "Why haven't you gone to take your bath yet?"
Gu Huaizheng replied in that infuriating way of his: "Will you let me sleep with you if I wash? If yes, I'll wash. If not, I won't. I'm not some pampered miss like you who needs a bath every day."
Shen Yitang's fists clenched.
What kind of person was he? Give him an inch and he takes a mile!
She sneered: "I suppose you plan to sleep on the floor for the rest of your life, never getting into bed again!"
"In that case, why bother coming back at all? Go sleep in the barracks!"
Some people were just incorrigible—the moment she got angry, he sidled over: "So if I wash up clean, will you let me sleep in the bed?"
Shen Yitang glared at him: "Too late. You've missed the boat—that ship has sailed."
That glance, half-annoyed and half-smiling, gave Gu Huaizheng the confidence to charge headfirst into a wall. He jumped up: "I'm going to wash right now—wash myself spotless."
Shen Yitang turned her face away and chuckled softly.
Once her hair had dried, she got up and returned to the bedroom.
The sheets and pillowcases were freshly changed, carrying the scent of sunshine.
Gu Huaizheng soon bounced onto the bed, bringing with him a cool, fresh mist of water, shamelessly pressing and nuzzling against her.
Shen Yitang was still shaken from last night and hastily pushed him away: "Go away, don't touch me. We're not doing that tonight."
"You're the one who told me to take a bath," Gu Huaizheng protested resentfully.
"I told you to wash up and get into bed to sleep—not that kind of 'sleep.'"
Gu Huaizheng got sulky and turned his back to her, ignoring her.
His heavy breathing made the bed tremble slightly.
Shen Yitang looked at his sturdy back, with a few faint old scars visible on it, and couldn't help feeling a pang of tenderness.
She quietly inched over, pressed herself against his back, and wrapped one arm around his waist.
How many silent, cold, endless nights had she fallen asleep clinging to the memory of this solid, warm embrace?
Gu Huaizheng stiffened and shook off her hand: "Don't come bothering me."
Shen Yitang put her hand back: "I will anyway. I'm going to hold you."
Gu Huaizheng rolled over and pinned her beneath him: "Since that's the case, then I won't hold back."
Shen Yitang was exasperated: "Why is your head full of nothing but that? Can't we just hold each other properly and talk?"
"Can't. It's your fault for being so beautiful, so fragrant, so soft. The moment I see you, my head fills with that and nothing else."
"You—" Shen Yitang's words of rebuke got stuck in her mouth. She barely managed to break free and finish her sentence: "Just once!"
The next morning, Shen Yitang couldn't get up again—she didn't even hear the reveille.
What an infuriating man!
After her anger subsided, another serious thought occurred to her: these past two nights… could she get pregnant?
In her previous life, she and Gu Huaizheng had never had children.
Back then, because she was always unwilling, the two of them had been together only rarely.
Moreover, she had been utterly dissatisfied with life there at the time, so naturally she hadn't wanted to bear his child.
That was why, every time, she'd urged him to finish outside.
In this life, although her feelings for Gu Huaizheng had changed and she had gradually come to enjoy the pleasures between a man and a woman, she still resisted the idea of pregnancy and childbirth from the bottom of her heart.
For one thing, she had just returned from fifteen years in the future and hadn't fully adjusted to life on the island yet. Adding a child would only make things more chaotic.
She had no confidence at all that she could be a good mother and take care of a child.
Second, there was the shadow of Gu Huaizheng's sacrifice that she could not shake off.
Having been given a second life, she naturally hoped that this time Gu Huaizheng could change that fate—live well, live long.
But there was so little she could do.
He was a soldier with a mission; she couldn't stop him from going into battle.
What if he still sacrificed himself like in her previous life?
Shen Yitang admitted she was selfish—she didn't dare bear the responsibility of raising a child alone.
And if a child grew up without a father by their side, would they resent her for bringing them into this world?
If that were the case, it would be better not to have one at all.
At least not now.
Perhaps she would change her mind later—who knew?
But for now, she chose to follow her heart.