Back in her room, Xu Xi locked the door and applied some snowflake cream to her face in front of the mirror.
The fresh scent of jasmine filled the air. Her hand paused mid-motion, as if she had suddenly thought of something.
Xu Xi entered the Spatial Dimension and headed straight for the thick mist.
The mist seemed to have thinned a little, but she still couldn’t pass through. It seemed this mist was indeed related to Zhou Yue.
After Zhou Yue gave her something, the mist had thinned.
How was this any different from gaining rewards by raising favorability?
Xu Xi bit her lip. What was going on with this Spatial Dimension? Couldn’t it recognize who its true owner was? It was actually making her raise favorability with Zhou Yue.
She peeked inside again, too curious about what rewards lay beyond the mist, but she couldn’t see clearly.
Xu Xi casually picked an apple, munching on it as she pondered.
Could she make this mist completely disappear before giving birth? Probably. She thought Zhou Yue was quite easy to charm.
Having made up her mind, Xu Xi finished the apple, washed up, and went to bed peacefully.
After Zhou Yue finished showering and was about to return to his room, his gaze unconsciously fell on the tightly closed door of Xu Xi’s room.
There was no sign of her pushing the door open or making a sound.
His thin lips pressed together slightly. Silently, he turned and went straight back to his own room.
…
The next day, Xu Xi was still half-asleep when the enticing aroma of steamed white buns suddenly woke her.
She swallowed her saliva, washed up, and headed to the kitchen.
Zhou Yue was busy in front of the stove. Steam rose from the bamboo steamer on the iron wok as he bent over to add firewood, the fabric of his back stretched taut over his firm muscles.
Xu Xi leaned against the doorway, watching him prepare breakfast.
Zhou Yue sensed the gaze behind him and straightened up, turning around to meet her bright, sparkling eyes.
Xu Xi curved her lips into a smile. “I didn’t expect you to know how to cook.”
Her radiant smile momentarily dazzled him. His Adam’s apple bobbed twice before he averted his gaze.
“Breakfast will be ready soon.”
When he lived alone in the dormitory before, he always ate at the canteen. Now that he was living with Xu Xi, and she was pregnant with twins, meals couldn’t be just thrown together.
Xu Xi leaned against the doorway for a while longer. Just as she was about to turn and go to the yard, she suddenly stumbled.
“Ouch…”
She had been standing too long, and her legs had gone numb.
Hearing her pained gasp, Zhou Yue glanced over and saw her stumbling, holding onto the doorframe. His brow furrowed slightly, and he instinctively took a few steps toward her.
“What’s wrong?”
Xu Xi had intended to say it was nothing, that the numbness would fade if she moved slowly, but then she remembered her plan to raise favorability with Zhou Yue.
She pouted pitifully and said, “My legs are numb. This happens often since I got pregnant. Probably because I didn’t eat well in the village and became malnourished.”
Zhou Yue’s brow furrowed. He sent her an allowance every month—could it be she hadn’t received any of his letters?
But the most important thing now was to help relieve the numbness and cramping in her legs.
He said softly, “Can you still walk? Moving slowly or massaging your calves might help.”
Back when he was a new recruit, whenever he stood guard for too long and his legs went numb, slowly moving around or massaging them would help.
Xu Xi softened her voice and cooed, “I can’t walk. Could you massage them for me?”
Zhou Yue’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly. Seeing her struggling with her pregnant belly, he remained silent for a few seconds before finally crouching down in front of her and helping massage her legs.
The moment his hand pressed against her leg, Xu Xi nearly jumped out of her skin.
Flustered, she steadied herself with one hand on the doorframe while the other instinctively gripped Zhou Yue’s shoulder.
Feeling the sudden touch of a soft hand on his shoulder, Zhou Yue’s broad, sturdy back tensed for a moment.
His dark eyes flickered slightly. Without looking up or speaking, he unconsciously increased the pressure of his massage.
The flesh on her calf felt soft and pliable under his touch—a sensation Zhou Yue had only experienced that one night.
Xu Xi felt the pressure of his massage intensify. Thinking this was how leg massages were supposed to be, she bit her lip and stayed silent.
But she couldn’t help letting out soft, fragmented gasps and moans.
The sounds made Zhou Yue’s whole body grow hot and restless. Unable to bear it, sweat slowly beaded on his back.
If it weren’t for the fact that Xu Xi was pregnant and couldn’t massage her own legs, he wouldn’t be enduring this torment.
Zhou Yue’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “Is that enough?”
The massage was quite effective. Xu Xi tried lifting her calf slightly. “It’s fine now, much better.”
Facing Zhou Yue’s deep, dark gaze, she took a deep breath and guiltily averted her eyes.
She hadn’t meant to provoke him—it was just that the muscles in her calf were too sensitive. Once massaged, she couldn’t control the urge to cry out.
Seeing that she was fine, Zhou Yue finally got up and went to the bathroom to take a cold shower.
He was a normal man—it was only natural for him to react this way.
By the time Zhou Yue came out of the bathroom, Xu Xi was already at the dining table, eating steamed buns and drinking millet porridge.
He glanced down at the damp trousers in his hand and decided to hang them out to dry in the backyard.
…
After breakfast, Zhou Yue had to return to the military base.
Xu Xi followed behind him, gazing at him eagerly. “Are you going out on patrol at sea today? When will you be back?”
Zhou Yue felt she was becoming a bit clingy but patiently replied, “No patrol today. I’ll be back by noon. If you don’t feel like cooking, I can bring food back from the canteen.”
Xu Xi added, “When you come back, could you stop by the supply and marketing cooperative to buy me some paintbrushes and rice paper? I’m bored at home and want to paint.”
Zhou Yue was surprised. “You know how to paint?”
He had no idea Xu Xi could paint. In his mind, she was just an illiterate village girl.
Seeing his confusion, Xu Xi explained, “I’ve loved painting since I was little. I even graduated from junior high school—art class was my favorite.”
In truth, Xu Xi wasn’t lying. The original owner of this body did enjoy painting, though she wasn’t very skilled and far from professional.
Well, at least she and the original owner shared a common interest.
Zhou Yue thought of the monthly allowance and asked solemnly, “After we got married, I sent my allowance home every month. Did you never receive it?”
Xu Xi shook her head blankly. “No, I didn’t.”
If she had received the allowance, would she be this poor now?
Who in the Zhou family had taken her money? Could it be Mother Zhou? Xu Xi gritted her teeth in anger.
Zhou Yue frowned, understanding dawning on him.
He went back to the room and gave Xu Xi a stack of money and ration coupons, telling her to buy whatever she liked. As for the allowance, he would get to the bottom of it.
Xu Xi took the money and counted it—there were at least twenty-something yuan.
Facing Zhou Yue, her smile grew sweeter. “Go ahead and train then. Don’t overwork yourself, and don’t push too hard.”
Zhou Yue left with a dark expression.
Xu Xi tucked the money away and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some paintbrushes and rice paper. After settling the bill with the salesclerk, she was about to head home when she overheard two salesclerks gossiping about her behind her back.
“Is she the country wife of Battalion Commander Zhou? How is my Xiuman any less than her?”
“Exactly, Comrade Lin is recognized as the most beautiful female comrade on our island, and yet a village girl snatched her man away.”
As they spoke, one of the salesclerks lowered her voice and said, “I heard Battalion Commander Zhou was drugged by that village girl—that’s how they ended up together.”