Lying in bed, Gu Beiting couldn’t remember the first time he saw Mu Youyou. In his mind, only the past two days of being with her replayed.
A sense of melancholy washed over him. He didn’t understand why he felt so drawn to her.
His hand lightly touched his chest. His heart was racing, beating like a frightened rabbit.
“Could it be… I like her?” he murmured to himself.
He closed his eyes, trying to stop his wandering thoughts.
But the moment he closed them, her clear, sparkling eyes flashed before him. She always looked so bright, stirring an inexplicable emotion in his heart.
There was something about her that captivated him. He didn’t know what it was exactly, only that she seemed to have a magnetic pull, drawing him closer.
Tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, Gu Beiting picked up a book.
Time passed, and finally, he succumbed to drowsiness and fell asleep.
Mu Youyou, on the other hand, slept peacefully through the night.
The next morning, she woke to find Gu Beiting already hoeing the backyard. Watching his broad, solid back, she couldn’t help but smile.
Gu Beiting heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Mu Youyou.
“You’re up?” he asked gently.
Mu Youyou nodded. “Mm.”
Her voice was soft and slightly lazy, still carrying the drowsiness of just waking.
“I’ll make breakfast,” she said with a smile and went to wash up in the yard before entering the kitchen.
For breakfast, Mu Youyou made multigrain pancakes, stir-fried shredded potatoes, wrapped with the meat sauce from yesterday, and a pot of plain rice porridge.
Gu Beiting tasted it and smiled approvingly. “Tastes great!”
Hearing this, Mu Youyou’s mood lifted, and a small smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
After breakfast, Gu Beiting went to tidy up. Mu Youyou retrieved the mung bean soup she had made yesterday from the well and filled his military water bottle with it.
“Gu Beiting, I put mung bean soup in the bottle. Make sure you take it with you,” she called out after filling it.
Next door, Deputy Battalion Commander Cui was washing up in the yard with Li Yumei.
“Honey, I want some mung bean soup too,” he said.
Li Yumei poked his arm. “Always thinking about eating! I’ll make some this afternoon; I have to go to the village this morning.”
“All right!” Cui said cheerfully.
Mu Youyou saw that the mung beans she’d prepared for sprouting yesterday had soaked overnight. She spread them evenly in a container and sprinkled some water over them.
“The backyard is already hoed,” Gu Beiting said, coming out of the kitchen.
“So fast?” Mu Youyou looked at him in surprise. “How did you do it?”
“When I first joined the unit, we all had to work the fields, so this is easy for me,” Gu Beiting smiled.
“It must’ve been tiring,” Mu Youyou said, handing him the water bottle as he was about to leave.
“I didn’t put too much sugar in case you don’t like it sweet. There’s more in the well; I’ll bring another bottle this afternoon. It’s hot—don’t get heatstroke.”
“Mm, you drink some too. You can leave the chores to me; I’ll take care of it when I get back,” she said, her eyes soft with warmth, though she didn’t realize it herself.
“Okay,” Mu Youyou nodded slightly and walked him to the gate.
“Go rest,” Gu Beiting said, turning to look at her. For the first time, he didn’t want to go to training.
“Ahem,” Deputy Battalion Commander Cui coughed from next door. Gu Beiting glanced over to see him watching with amusement.
“Go on, go,” Mu Youyou blushed and quickly closed the door.
Gu Beiting watched the closed door and smirked slightly.
“Look at him, holding onto his loving mung bean soup… he’ll be back for lunch, and they act all clingy,” Cui teased.
Gu Beiting ignored him and strode forward.
“Hey, wait up!” Cui chased after him, hooking his shoulder. “I wasn’t wrong, right? Marrying is better than staying single, huh?”
“Mm,” Gu Beiting nodded imperceptibly.
“Give me some of that mung bean soup. I’ll return the favor when my wife makes it this afternoon,” Cui said, eyeing the bottle.
“No,” Gu Beiting replied, pulling it closer.
“I never realized you were so stingy,” Cui muttered, shaking his head at how protective he was of it.
Inside, Mu Youyou covered her reddened face.
“Sis, you’re shy,” Caicai’s voice came from the space.
“What does a little brat know?” she muttered, removing her hands and heading to the backyard to see Gu Beiting’s work.
“I don’t know, I just see that sis, your affection for Gu Beiting is at 80%,” Caicai said, waving its claws in the space.
“Already?” she asked.
“Sis, today is only the fourth day. I see you haven’t captured him yet, but he’s already captured you.”
“Same difference,” Mu Youyou said. She wasn’t one to fuss over such things.
If she truly liked Gu Beiting, she would accept it. If he didn’t like her, she’d leave—no forcing things.
Watching the backyard neatly hoed in rows, Mu Youyou smiled. This man worked fast and well.
Just then, a knock sounded at the front yard.
“He’s here!” Mu Youyou hurried to open the door.
“Yo—Youyou,” it was Li Yumei.
“Yumei-jie!”
“I’m going to the village to buy some things. Do you want to come with me?” Li Yumei smiled.
“Sure! I want to buy some seeds and seafood. Wait a moment, I’ll grab my basket,” Mu Youyou replied happily.
“All right, take your time, I’ll wait,” Li Yumei said.
Mu Youyou shouldered her basket and followed Li Yumei to the family housing gate, where another military wife was waiting.
“Yo—Youyou, this is the wife of Instructor Zhang, Liu Shuzhen,” Li Yumei introduced.
“You can just call me Shuzhen-jie. My husband Zhang Hui works with your Gu Battalion Commander,” Liu Shuzhen said. She had a delicate, attractive oval face.
“Shuzhen-jie,” Mu Youyou said sweetly.
“Let’s go,” Li Yumei said, taking both Mu Youyou’s and Liu Shuzhen’s hands, and the three walked toward the village.
“Did you meet Wang Guihua in the city the other day?” Li Yumei asked. She had also heard from other residents while picking up her kids yesterday.
“Mm. She said something outside?” Mu Youyou asked.
“Don’t mind her. Everyone in the housing area knows what kind of person she is. Just ignore her, it’s nonsense,” Liu Shuzhen advised.
“Right, listen to Shuzhen-jie. She’s argued with that woman many times before,” Li Yumei added, glancing at Liu Shuzhen. “Now even Shuzhen-jie doesn’t bother with her.”
“All right, I understand,” Mu Youyou smiled, grateful for their kindness.