15
Returning Home, Is It Good?
When Lu Xuanzhou returned to the Courtyard, he first went to the central yard to take a shower.
The water splashed noisily.
“Damn, who’s crazy enough to shower in the middle of the night? Don’t others need to sleep?”
Lu Xuanzhou paused while washing his hair, quickly rinsed off, turned off the faucet, and returned to the backyard.
Lu Xuanzhou picked the lock and climbed through the window in one smooth motion.
He tiptoed to the bedside and saw Lin Jianchun sleeping soundly, hugging his pillow with her arms while clutching his blanket between her legs.
When he tried to pull the blanket to make a bed on the floor, Lin Jianchun whimpered at the slightest tug.
Afraid of waking her, he didn’t dare move. After waiting for a while, he managed to free the pillow, only to have Lin Jianchun’s hands reach up and wrap around his arm as soon as he relaxed.
She even nuzzled against it.
Lu Xuanzhou closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, lifted a corner of the blanket, and slipped inside.
He had expected to toss and turn all night, but listening to her steady breathing and catching faint whiffs of her delicate fragrance, he unexpectedly slept soundly until dawn.
Lin Jianchun had gone to bed early, so she woke up as soon as Lu Xuanzhou moved.
Blinking her sleepy eyes, she murmured, “Lu Xuanzhou, you’re back?”
“Mm.”
Lu Xuanzhou unconsciously softened his voice, gently patting the blanket to soothe her. “It’s still early. Sleep a bit more.”
Lin Jianchun shook her head. “Every time I fall asleep, you disappear again.”
A slight smile touched Lu Xuanzhou’s lips. “I’ll have several days off after this business trip. Go back to sleep.”
Unable to resist his coaxing, drowsy tone, Lin Jianchun’s eyelids grew heavy and closed again.
Mother Lu wasn’t surprised to see Lu Xuanzhou emerge from the room. Having heard the Du family in the central yard complaining earlier by the water pipes, she had guessed her son must have returned.
Lu Xuanzhou set two burlap sacks on the ground. “I happened to visit a dairy factory in Hai City this time and managed to get some powdered milk. Keep some for our household, and you can decide what to do with the rest, Mom.”
Mother Lu peeked into the sacks—one was filled with packaged milk powder worth quite a bit of money, and the other contained dried seafood.
“Just this morning, I heard your Aunt Xu say her daughter-in-law isn’t producing enough milk, and her grandson is crying from hunger. She’s been trying to trade for milk powder ration coupons everywhere.”
Milk powder coupons were hard to come by—only new mothers received two. City folks knew milk powder was nutritious, and those who could afford it weren’t willing to trade their coupons for cash.
“I’ll set aside two bags for visiting relatives and ask Aunt Xu if she needs any.”
After finishing a bowl of watery porridge, Lu Xuanzhou put down his chopsticks. “Keep more for our household. I’ve heard milk powder is nutritious—you should have some too.”
Mother Lu felt a warm swell in her heart. “Why would an old woman like me need such fancy things? But your wife is thin—it’ll be good for her. It’ll make childbirth easier later.”
Knowing Lu Xuanzhou wasn’t one for many words, she didn’t expect a response and continued, “Go to your unit later and request leave for the next two days. We need to visit your wife’s family.”
“Understood.”
After returning the vehicle to the machinery factory, Lu Xuanzhou submitted his leave request. Having completed two consecutive trips, the supervisor readily approved it and casually asked, “What are your plans for these two days off?”
Uncertain how to define his relationship with Lin Jianchun, Lu Xuanzhou vaguely replied, “Meeting a potential match.”
“Oh, I’d forgotten you’re still single. Is two days enough? I’ll approve four days for you—combined with Sunday, that’s five days off. Take your time choosing the right one. Marriage is a lifelong matter, after all.”
Lu Xuanzhou did not refuse, thanking the director for his kindness.
He casually placed two packets of milk powder and a bag of seafood on the director’s desk. The director did not decline either, chuckling and scolding, “You’re the only one who knows how to be thoughtful.”
Every time Lu Xuanzhou went on a driving assignment, no matter where he went, he would always bring back local specialties for him. They weren’t worth much, but everyone appreciated the feeling of being remembered.
When Lu Xuanzhou returned home, Lin Jianchun was already awake, sitting obediently at the table, holding a bowl and drinking the milk powder he had brought back.
Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
“Brother Zhou, I wasn’t dreaming—you really came back.”
Lin Jianchun happily moved closer. “I thought I was dreaming this morning, dreaming that you were coaxing me to sleep.”
Lu Xuanzhou let out a soft “Mm,” his gaze fixed on Lin Jianchun’s slightly parted red lips and the layer of milk powder residue on them.
“You have milk on your lips.”
Lin Jianchun stuck out her tongue to lick it off. Lu Xuanzhou stared at that nimble little tongue, feeling as if the world around them had fallen silent.
“Is it clean now?”
Lu Xuanzhou’s voice was hoarse. “No.”
Lin Jianchun tilted her head up, her gaze intense. “Then wipe it for me.”
Lu Xuanzhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he raised his hand and used his thumb to wipe away the milk stain.
“In broad daylight, what are you two doing hugging each other!”
Song Caiwei, having heard that Lu Xuanzhou had returned, deliberately passed by the Lu family’s door. She never expected to see Lin Jianchun and Lu Xuanzhou embracing.
“How annoying. I’m hugging my own husband in my own home, and yet I’m being criticized. Such nosiness.” Even though they weren’t actually hugging, she was thrilled to see Song Caiwei angered.
Lin Jianchun threw her entire body into Lu Xuanzhou’s arms. Lu Xuanzhou steadied her by wrapping an arm around her waist.
“You two are shameless!”
Lin Jianchun kicked the door shut, but her voice clearly carried outside.
“Brother Zhou, let’s go back to our room, okay? I want to hear about your driving trip. Please?”
Lin Jianchun’s voice was sweet and cloying, but her eyes were clear and alert. She even stood on her tiptoes, straining to hear the commotion outside—just like the kids in the Courtyard when they quarreled.
“Brother Zhou, please?~~~” Lin Jianchun shook his arm, cooing again.
Lu Xuanzhou knew she was pretending, but he couldn’t bear to see her lose.
“Mm.”
Song Caiwei was furious. That vixen had already bewitched her brother into longing for her, and now she had Lu Xuanzhou indulging her so quickly. Everyone knew Lu Xuanzhou had never been kind to women.
If she didn’t intervene soon, that vixen might seduce Lu Xuanzhou into returning to bed for daytime debauchery.
She knocked heavily on the door. “Brother Lu, I need to talk to you.”
Hearing Song Caiwei’s rage outside the door, Lin Jianchun felt utterly content. The author had tossed her into this terrible novel with just a few complaints about the plot—if she didn’t completely derail the storyline, she’d take the author’s surname!
“Shall I open the door for you?”
Lu Xuanzhou lowered his gaze, watching Lin Jianchun tightly clutching his sleeve. Her face clearly showed reluctance, yet she stubbornly insisted.
She claimed she would open the door for him, but her body firmly blocked it.
Lu Xuanzhou sighed. “I’m not familiar with the Song family. There’s nothing to discuss.”
He was no saint. The last time the Song family had extorted five thousand dollars from his family, threatening to send him to face the firing squad if they didn’t comply—that was something he would never forget.
“Good, then let’s go back to our room!”
A man who upholds male virtue is a good man.
Listening to the fading footsteps, Song Caiwei’s face twisted with jealousy at the thought of the couple returning to their room to be intimate, yet she could do nothing about it.
Upon returning home, she heard her mother arranging to exchange ration coupons so her brother Song Zhian could ask out a young nurse.
Song Caiwei kicked a stool in irritation. “Brother, brother—all you care about is my brother! Do you even remember you have a daughter? You know perfectly well I like Brother Lu, yet you had to offend the Lu family. You’ve ruined any chance I had with him!”
“You ungrateful child! I only sought compensation to buy you a job! This morning I ran into the neighborhood committee clerk, who told me to register you for rural assignment soon so you could at least choose a better location.”
“I won’t go to the countryside! Mom, you can’t abandon me like this!”
Song’s Mother sighed. “You know our family’s situation. Raising you two alone all these years hasn’t been easy. The 300 yuan I’d painstakingly saved was all taken by Lin Jianchun. If you refuse rural assignment, then I’ll ask Granny Wang to find you a good husband.”
“I won’t marry, and I won’t go to the countryside! It’s all your fault for faking illness and ruining my marriage prospects! You have to fix this, or I’ll hang myself right here at home!”
Slamming her bedroom door shut, Song Caiwei left her mother so furious she nearly choked.
“What sin have I committed… If it weren’t for you children, would I have done things that make people curse me behind my back…”