Among the five children in the family, the eldest daughter had married into another village. The second child, Gu Rong, was born lazy. The third child had gone missing as a child and was never heard from again. The youngest, Gu Qin, was still in school. Only Gu Bai, the fourth child, was the most promising, but…
Seeing Gu Bai remain silent like a mute gourd, Wu Minzhen let out a long sigh and stopped nagging.
After a long silence, Gu Bai finally spoke: “Where are the two children?”
“In your room.” Mentioning her two precious grandsons, Wu Minzhen showed a hint of a smile. “Those two clever little ones love clinging to Tongtong, and Tongtong truly adores children…”
Before Wu Minzhen could finish, Gu Bai stood up and walked out on tiptoe. “I’ll go check on the room.”
Wu Minzhen was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Gu Wenlin.
Gu Wenlin gave her a reassuring smile and whispered, “In my opinion, it’s fine.”
“Really?” Wu Minzhen leaned out uneasily to look.
“Don’t underestimate that girl Tongtong. She’s no pushover either.” Gu Wenlin got off the kang and pulled the still-peering Wu Minzhen back onto it. “Just set your mind at ease. When a young couple quarrels, they make up by bedtime. Look at the second child and his wife—don’t they argue and bicker every day?”
“You know everything!” Wu Minzhen glared at Gu Wenlin, but her tense heart finally settled.
“But we need to discipline Xiaoqin!” Speaking of Gu Qin, Gu Wenlin couldn’t help but feel angry. “Always siding with outsiders—what kind of behavior is that!”
Wu Minzhen nodded. “Yes, this girl is indeed acting more and more outrageously!”
When Gu Bai returned to the room, he found it quiet.
Only after entering did he realize that Ruan Tong and the two children were already asleep on the bed.
However, Ruan Tong woke up when she heard the door open.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she turned her head and saw that Gu Bai had returned. She asked calmly, “Have you eaten dinner?”
“I have.” As soon as Gu Bai’s words fell, his stomach protested with a sound—”Gurgle—”
Both of them froze for a moment.
Then, the room fell into silence.
To cover his embarrassment, Gu Bai walked toward the table.
Ruan Tong covered her mouth, afraid she wouldn’t be able to hold back her laughter.
Could this be the legendary “the body is more honest than the mouth”?
A moment later, she got up, grabbed a jacket, and was about to go out.
Gu Bai quickly grabbed her. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll go cook some noodles for you. Otherwise, you’ll definitely be too hungry to sleep tonight.” Ruan Tong lowered her voice, afraid of waking the children.
“You’d have to start a fire. Don’t trouble yourself.” With a tug, Gu Bai pulled her back.
Ruan Tong thought for a moment, then had an idea. “How about I make you a cup of malted milk? There are also some biscuits here. Will that do?”
“Okay.” Gu Bai nodded, and a smile finally appeared on his cold, stern face for the first time that day.
Afterward, he sat at the table, watching Ruan Tong busily moving around. His gaze gradually grew profound.
Deep down, he felt that since Ruan Tong treated him so sincerely, he owed her an explanation.
“Ruan Tong…”
“Fourth Brother…”
They spoke simultaneously, as if by tacit understanding.
At this thought, Ruan Tong couldn’t help but lower her head to glance at her flat stomach.
“Qiu Hong is the childhood friend of my comrade-in-arms. She used to be a cultural troupe soldier and has now retired from the army. I’ve cleared up all the previous misunderstandings with her today.” Gu Bai seemed to be struggling to find the right words to explain the matter.
Misunderstandings?
Ruan Tong gave him a suspicious look. “Fourth Brother, are you sure you’ve made everything clear to her? Does she understand what you meant to convey?”
Back on the hillside, she had heard it all too clearly. Qiu Hong had kept complaining and crying, yet this blockhead hadn’t uttered a single word in response.
“I admit, I really am not good with words.” Gu Bai showed a hint of embarrassment.
Ruan Tong wasn’t about to go easy on him and spoke bluntly, “You’re not just bad with words—you’re also lazy about it.”
“This matter was my fault.” Gu Bai sincerely admitted his mistake.
Ruan Tong leaned back slightly, her expression serious. “Fourth Brother, tell me honestly, do you like that Qiu Hong?”
Otherwise, why would she have complained about him with such resentment?
Ruan Tong felt that Gu Bai must have had feelings for her in the past.
“No.” Gu Bai answered firmly.
Ruan Tong shrugged. “Alright, if you say no, then it’s no.”
“Regardless, today’s incident was caused by me, and I apologize to you.” Gu Bai sat up straight, his attitude sincere.
He was practically on the verge of giving Ruan Tong a military salute.
His overly serious demeanor made Ruan Tong unable to hold back a sudden laugh.
Seeing her laugh, Gu Bai finally let out a sigh of relief.
He hadn’t even realized how unusually tense he had been just moments before.
“Fourth Brother, there’s something I want to tell you.” Ruan Tong bit her lower lip, hesitating before speaking.
Gu Bai looked up, meeting Ruan Tong’s clear eyes filled with worry and conflict. His gaze flickered slightly as he replied calmly, “Mm, go ahead.”
“Ahem… well, that… that…” Ruan Tong’s pretty face flushed slightly, her eyes avoiding his. “I… I’m pregnant.”
Gu Bai froze.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Ruan Tong silently counted to ten in her mind before speaking again. “Well, if you…”
“Are you willing to keep the baby?” Before Ruan Tong could finish, Gu Bai anxiously asked, his usual composure breaking as his emotions surfaced.
Now it was Ruan Tong’s turn to be stunned.
She had originally intended to say, “If you don’t agree to keep the baby, then we should go our separate ways.” After all, she had already made up her mind to have this child, even if it meant leaving the Gu family—she wouldn’t change her mind.
But the situation turned out differently from what she had expected.
Gu Bai’s silence hadn’t been a rejection but rather worry that she might not want the baby.
She had almost misunderstood again!
Gu Bai seemed to have a bit of a “communication difficulty syndrome.” Communicating with this blockhead required a great deal of patience.
“You don’t need to worry about making money. I can drive trucks and farm the land. I definitely won’t let you and the child go hungry.” Gu Bai’s gaze was resolute.
The corners of Ruan Tong’s lips lifted slightly. “Fourth Brother, don’t underestimate me. I’ll also work hard for our life together.”
Gu Bai rarely smiled. “Of course I wouldn’t underestimate you. After all, women hold up half the sky.”
Ruan Tong was taken aback for a moment before quickly recalling the origin of this profound saying, and her smile gradually deepened.
People in this era were quite interesting, always tossing out philosophical quotes—and they were all truths.
After a deep conversation, Ruan Tong went back to bed to sleep.
Gu Bai, however, tossed and turned on his makeshift bed on the floor, unable to sleep.
“Stepmother, don’t leave!”
Suddenly, Gu Bai heard Dabao’s voice and quickly sat up.
Seeing Dabao with his eyes closed and brows furrowed, he must have been having a bad dream.
So, was it because Ruan Tong had thought about leaving today, and Dabao had sensed it?
A flicker of regret crossed Gu Bai’s face before he turned back to sleep on the floor…