AYLS – Chapter 118

After discussing it with Zhang Tuo, Li Yan brought up the idea of inviting them to dinner when she went to work and saw Lin Qiao and the others.

Lin Qiao had already heard from Gu Huayuan that the two had reconciled. Now hearing Li Yan say it herself, she was overjoyed. “Congratulations!”

Li Ermei said, “Oh my, you two made up so easily? Your man could stay outside for so long—I thought he was really stubborn.”

Su Weizhen said, “You just don’t get it. No matter how stubborn he is, he’s still a kite with a string attached. He can’t fly far. She just has to give it a tug and he’s pulled right back.”

Li Ermei immediately pouted. “What’s so fun about that? My Old Chen is like a grasshopper after autumn now—I can pinch him however I want.”

Su Weizhen and Lin Qiao: “……”

Since when can ‘grasshopper after autumn’ be used like that?

Li Yan also laughed. “Then it’s settled. Make sure you all come.”

Li Ermei responded enthusiastically, “Of course we’ll go. If there’s good food, anyone who doesn’t go is a fool.” She rubbed her belly contentedly, feeling that life was truly flavorful now—good food and good drink.

After the meeting, Li Yan secretly pulled Lin Qiao aside to thank her.

She said that she only managed to react and think things through because of Lin Qiao’s reminders earlier.

“I never knew before that making life better could be so simple.”

Lin Qiao pressed her lips together and smiled shyly. “I was just saying things casually. It’s great that you could figure it out on your own. Anyway, I think when living together, getting along is the most important. Look at how happy Gu Huayuan and I are.”

Her tone carried a hint of pride.

Li Yan laughed. “You and Comrade Gu Huayuan are different. You two have a foundation of love. I used to really envy your marriage.”

“We have a foundation of love?” Lin Qiao touched her hair. “You really think so? Do you think he loves me? I always feel like he doesn’t love me enough.”

Li Yan stared in shock. “How could you think that? If what you two have isn’t love, then what counts as love?”

Lin Qiao felt a bit guilty. It was true—she didn’t really love Gu Huayuan. She wasn’t that foolish.

“Qiao, I’m going to try my best to love Zhang Tuo from now on too.”

“Huh? What made you suddenly think that?” Lin Qiao looked at her in surprise.

“Because marriage is mutual—and so is love. I used to be too self-centered, I didn’t know how to give. From now on, I’ll learn to give. You, Su Weizhen, and Ermei—you’re all people willing to give love for your marriages. I want to be like you.”

“I’ve experienced a marriage where only one side gave and the other only took. If the love between the couple isn’t mutual, they can never be truly happy. The one who gives will always feel tired, and the one who only takes will always feel it’s not enough. That kind of marriage is miserable. I never want to live like that again.”

Love is mutual.

Lin Qiao’s guilty heart thumped hard.

That evening when she returned home, Lin Qiao looked at Gu Huayuan, her emotions still a tangled mess.

Li Yan said Gu Huayuan loved her. Of course Lin Qiao herself knew that too. Gu Huayuan really was good to her—if he didn’t love her, how could he treat her so well?

It was just… she always felt he didn’t love her enough. Otherwise, the progress bar wouldn’t be moving so slowly. Sometimes it barely moved at all.

Now that Li Yan mentioned it, she suddenly realized— could the problem actually be with her?

Because… she didn’t love Gu Huayuan.

A marriage where love only goes one way cannot be happy.

So was she the one making Gu Huayuan unhappy?

And was that why their marriage wasn’t truly happy?

She originally wanted to ask Fat Cat, but lately Fat Cat had become increasingly unreliable. She didn’t even want to talk to it anymore.

Especially since recently, Fat Cat lay weakly on the chair every day pretending to be dead. It clearly looked like it didn’t want to deal with her, so she didn’t feel like talking either.

Gu Huayuan was studying combat materials. He would be going to the front line after the New Year, and there were many things he couldn’t afford to slack on. Otherwise, he might not perform well in the crucial responsibility of guarding the border.

Seeing Lin Qiao still lying on the bed and staring at him, he finally couldn’t sit still. He put the materials down and asked, “Can’t sleep without me?”

“That’s not it.” Lin Qiao let out a guilty hum and turned over, then secretly peeked at him again.

Gu Huayuan felt incredibly flattered, though his face remained stern. “Go to sleep early. Don’t wait for me. I’ll sleep after I’m done reading.”

“You can’t control me.” Lin Qiao pouted. “You’re always fierce to me.”

Li Yan even said he loved her—how could someone who loved her be so fierce? He treated her like a child.

Hmph!

Gu Huayuan couldn’t hold his stern expression anymore. He sighed helplessly. “I’m doing this for your own good. Don’t you have to work? Isn’t work busy at the end of the year? If you sleep late, you’ll complain about your skin, or dark circles making you look bad.”

“…That’s true.” Lin Qiao instantly lay down obediently, but then couldn’t help asking, “Gu Huayuan, do you think I love you?”

“……”

Gu Huayuan could barely hold onto his book. This woman… He helplessly put the materials aside and lay down on the heated brick bed. “Are you doing this just to mess with me?”

“No one is messing with you. I’m asking a serious question. Can you have a healthier mindset? Why do you always think about unhealthy things?”

“Do you feel unhappy thinking I don’t love you?”

Gu Huayuan: “…” What kind of conversation is this supposed to be?

What exactly goes on in a woman’s head? Why are there always such strange questions?

“I’m not unhappy. I know how you feel about me.”

“You really know?” Lin Qiao leaned close. “Then what exactly are my feelings for you?”

A vein pulsed at his temple. He immediately turned off the lamp. “Why ask? I know, that’s enough. Must you say it out loud?”

…………

This was his first time hosting a meal, so Zhang Tuo took it very seriously. He was even a bit nervous. He arranged to go to the county with Gu Huayuan to buy groceries.

He wasn’t familiar with the county, and he had no experience buying things for a dinner invitation.

When Lin Qiao heard, she immediately said she could go.

Coincidentally, she had a rotation break coming up. She could stroll around the county.

So the two families simply went together to buy groceries.

Lin Qiao sat on the back seat of the bicycle, her hands naturally slipping into the pockets on both sides of Gu Huayuan’s coat for warmth. His body was warm, and the pockets were warm—just like a little stove.

With warm hands and her body resting against his back, she felt wonderfully comfortable.

Seeing Li Yan sitting stiffly, she taught her how to do the same.

Li Yan wasn’t used to it at first, but seeing Lin Qiao so natural, she gathered her courage and copied her to warm her hands.

Zhang Tuo: “……” Comrade Xiao Qiao sure was warm-hearted.

He secretly winked at Gu Huayuan, silently expressing thanks.

Gu Huayuan smiled, eyes full of pride.

Lin Qiao was leaning against his back when she saw the progress bar in her mind move forward a little. She instantly straightened up in surprise.

Gu Huayuan jumped. “What happened?”

“Hehe, nothing. I’m just happy.” She hugged him even tighter.

Gu Huayuan: “…Don’t fool around.”

“I want to. You can’t stop me.” Lin Qiao clung stubbornly.

Gu Huayuan’s face flushed red. No matter how they played around at home, doing it in front of others was too intimate.

“Lin Qiao!”

“It’s cold.” She hugged him even tighter.

Zhang Tuo and Li Yan: “……”

Lin Qiao watched the progress bar increase again. She was delighted. It was small, but seeing it move meant hope.

Clearly, her previous displays of affection weren’t enough. Too subtle.

Once they reached the county, Gu Huayuan stopped riding and chose to push the bicycle instead, letting Lin Qiao sit on it so she wouldn’t mess around.

Seeing this, Lin Qiao got annoyed and hopped off, dragging Li Yan to browse the department store.

When Zhang Tuo saw the two walk away, he quickly leaned in. “Shitou, I’ve never been jealous of you since we were young, but in this area… I really envy you. How are you so capable?”

Gu Huayuan coughed. “Comrade Xiao Qiao isn’t always like this. She’s usually very proper in public. Maybe she’s excited because she hasn’t gone out with me in a long time.”

Zhang Tuo laughed. “Listen to yourself, still pretending in front of me. You’ve been like this since you were little—mouth saying one thing, heart another. I’m not making fun of your wife. Why so protective?”

Gu Huayuan shot him a look. “Believe it or don’t. I’m telling the truth.”

Zhang Tuo didn’t argue. “Shitou, take your wife to relax. Let her influence Li Yan more. I’ve noticed—when you stay close to good examples, you become better. Li Yan has improved a lot thanks to her. For my future married life, you have to help me.”

Gu Huayuan replied, “You’re dreaming. Do it yourself. Don’t make my wife worry about you.”

Then he pushed the bicycle to catch up with the two women.

This was Li Yan’s first time shopping in the county.

Lin Qiao, familiar with everything, took her through the department store. When they passed the black market, Lin Qiao even warned her not to go there—she could get her legs broken.

Li Yan: “……”

There wasn’t much worth buying in the department store, but Lin Qiao could skillfully purchase various household necessities. Things like snow cream were sold out, though.

Watching the two women chirping about what to buy, picking through items, Gu Huayuan and Zhang Tuo didn’t join in. They headed to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy ingredients.

Zhang Tuo sighed, “Shitou, thinking that you’re leaving after the New Year… I really can’t bear it. After all my childish nonsense when I first came here, we should have a proper gathering.”

Thinking back to all the messy things he did when he first arrived, Zhang Tuo felt strangely emotional. As if ages had passed.

He hadn’t expected things to develop to this point.

Li Yan had changed, and his own life was starting to feel easier.

But Shitou and his wife were about to leave.

Gu Huayuan knew that he also wanted to go to the frontier, but because of those issues with his body, he temporarily couldn’t.

He patted Zhang Tuo on the shoulder. “Isn’t it just a few months? Let’s take the chance to meet up more. Before, you were in the capital and I was here. Didn’t we still get through so many years like that? It didn’t affect our brotherhood. And even if I don’t leave, who knows—maybe one day you’ll end up back in the capital.”

Zhang Tuo smiled. “I’m not going back. Li Yan said she doesn’t like the capital; she prefers it here. She wants to stay and fulfill her dream here. I also think this place is better than the capital. The environment may be harsh, but once you get used to it, it’s fine. Most importantly, we can both realize our value here. My past experience taught me that when life is too comfortable, you start looking for trouble and making problems for yourself.”

He felt that the way he and Li Yan used to be was exactly because their days were too good.

If they had started out in this kind of environment—worrying every day about work and survival—where would they find the time or energy for sighing over spring and autumn or indulging in romance and sentimentality?

Their previous lifestyle had completely drifted away from the life of ordinary people—far too problematic.

“You’re going to the frontier. I can’t very well run back to the capital. I’ll stay here and open up wasteland. Wherever the land-reclamation corps goes, I’ll go. Who knows, maybe the grain you eat in the future will be grown from the land I reclaim.”

Gu Huayuan heard the relaxed tone in his voice—a state of mind he definitely didn’t have back in the capital.

He was genuinely happy for Zhang Tuo. This was the mentality a man, a soldier, should have.

That evening, when they gathered for dinner at Li Yan’s house, Lin Qiao and Ermie were showing off the things they bought. Lin Qiao said that although she didn’t manage to buy the snow-cream she liked, she still bought lots of other things.

Shopping was always such a joy.

Li Ermie listened with her teeth practically aching, looking very unhappy as she held her big belly. “If I weren’t pregnant, I’d have gone too. Once I give birth, I’m definitely going.”

Then she yelled at Instructor Chen, “Old Chen, you’re taking me to buy things when the time comes!”

Instructor Chen, who was in high spirits after being forgiven by Zhang Tuo, let out a dry laugh. “Can’t be helped. When you’re carrying a child, the temper tends to get big. You’ll all understand in the future.”

Xu Yuanzheng immediately became unhappy. “Oh, get lost. Stop acting smug.”

Honestly, if he weren’t about to be transferred, he and Zhenzhen would’ve started preparing for a baby before the new year too. Looked like they’d have to think about it after going to the frontier.

He turned to Gu Huayuan. “Jealous?”

“Not jealous.” Gu Huayuan shook his head. To be honest, he felt things were good as they were now. Having a child was hard work for Comrade Xiao Qiao. And he had to admit—when it came to taking care of a child, he definitely wouldn’t be able to put in as much effort as she could.

Here it wasn’t so bad, but once he went to the frontier, he would often be sent on missions and wouldn’t be home. So it wasn’t something to consider for now.

Zhang Tuo was a bit envious, but he didn’t dare think too much about it. “These things… it’s better to let nature take its course.”

“Dinner’s ready, dinner’s ready! Get over here and help! What are you men whispering about over there?” Lin Qiao shouted with her hands on her hips.

“Coming!” Gu Huayuan immediately stood up with a grin and walked over.