AYLS -Chapter 157

Su Weizhen told him about who she had been in her previous life—how she came to know Xu Yuanzheng through an autobiography.

She explained how an accident had brought her to this era and into another person’s body.

And how she then chose to marry Xu Yuanzheng and build a family with him.

“I originally didn’t want to tell you any of this. I treated all of that as my past life and wanted to start over. I was afraid it would put distance between us. But what happened to Gu Huayuan this time woke me up. In your memories, he sacrificed himself. Even though my arrival may have changed some things, these strange incidents he’s been experiencing recently might have brought his fate forward. And I can’t just stand by and do nothing when I know something bad might happen.”

The room was quiet for a long while. Xu Yuanzheng wondered if he had misheard her. Or maybe Su Weizhen was joking with him.

“What you just said… you’re teasing me, right?”

Su Weizhen looked at him seriously. “Everything I said is true. Xu Yuanzheng, do you think I’d lie to you about something this important?”

Xu Yuanzheng: “…”

Silence fell over the room once more.

It took Xu Yuanzheng ten minutes just to steady his emotions, and then he forced himself to calmly accept everything Su Weizhen had said. He wasn’t like Gu Huayuan, who could easily embrace new ideas. But his feelings for Su Weizhen were absolutely real.

He knew exactly what kind of reaction would put her at ease.

Su Weizhen asked, “You really believe me?”

“I believe you.” Xu Yuanzheng nodded. Just like he’d always said—he believed every word Zhenzhen said.

Over the years they’d been together, it wasn’t as if he had never noticed anything odd. He simply never thought too deeply about it. Because he truly trusted Zhenzhen.

He kept finding reasonable explanations for her in his heart.

His reaction made Su Weizhen feel even more guilty.

“Don’t you blame me for hiding it from you?”

Xu Yuanzheng shook his head and held her hand. “No. If it were me, I wouldn’t tell anyone either.”

Su Weizhen finally breathed out in relief, then asked the question she’d been worried about all along. “Do you… think I approached you with ulterior motives?”

Xu Yuanzheng laughed. “Based on what you know, it doesn’t seem like my life was very smooth, does it? At least before forty, I wasn’t destined for a good life. You were willing to spend most of those hard years with me—what would I ever doubt? And I know very well how the two of us have lived all these years. If anything, it’s less that I’ve been taking care of you and more that you’ve been taking care of me. You took care of the first half of my life. If I really had the ability to make your second half better, that would be my duty. You just think too much.”

Su Weizhen’s eyes instantly turned red. In matters of emotion, she was actually a pretty rational person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have kept this from him for so long.

But Xu Yuanzheng’s unexpected reaction truly touched her.

In this world, there really was someone who would accept her unconditionally. In the past, she often felt that she was the one being more proactive, giving more in this relationship. Sometimes she even complained that Xu Yuanzheng wasn’t considerate enough, which was why she could never fully feel at ease.

Xu Yuanzheng gently wiped away her tears. “Don’t cry. This doesn’t change anything for me. How we lived before is how we’ll keep living after. Although, to be honest, this news really is shocking… Truthfully, my heart’s still thumping like crazy, it feels like I’m dreaming. It’ll take some time to get used to.”

When he heard it, of course he had been shocked—no different from someone suddenly telling him gods existed, and the god was standing right in front of him.

Actually, this was even more shocking than legendary gods. Until now, he’d never imagined people from the future could return to the past.

And in Zhenzhen’s memories, he seemed to have lived a not-so-pleasant life.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuanzheng suddenly froze.

Su Weizhen asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Yuanzheng said, “You… saw what I looked like when I got old? Did I lose all my hair? All my teeth?”

Su Weizhen was stunned, then burst out laughing. “I told you something this important, and this is what you care about?”

“Of course I care. It’s about the image you have of me.”

Su Weizhen pressed her lips together, smiling. “No, I came here right after finishing the book. I didn’t have time to see any other photos of you. The book cover—you looked very handsome.”

Only then did Xu Yuanzheng relax. He said, “Zhenzhen, even though the you in that world knows I’ll go into business in the future, I don’t want that path here. I’ve always wanted to stay in the army. If possible, I don’t want to leave even in the future. Maybe I won’t achieve anything great, but I don’t like doing business. So this me… might be different from the one you know.”

Su Weizhen nodded. “I know. I want you to live the life you like. Being a soldier is good. I like it here too.”

After she said that, the two of them looked at each other and smiled.

But after laughing, they quickly began to worry about something else.

How were they supposed to explain all this to Xiao Qiao and the others? Without the truth, they’d never be convincing.

But if they told the truth…

“I trust Xiao Qiao and them,” Su Weizhen said.

Xu Yuanzheng thought for a moment, then nodded.

He smiled. “I just don’t know whether they’ll believe it.”

“We have to try.”

The two discussed it and decided to invite Gu Huayuan and Xiao Qiao over for dinner the next evening, so both families could sit and talk properly.

This matter should be brought up sooner than later. In Su Weizhen’s view, the best outcome would be convincing Gu Huayuan to stay in logistics instead of going to the front line.

Xu Yuanzheng felt that was nearly impossible. He knew Gu Huayuan too well—or rather, he knew soldiers too well.

Anyone who enlisted had already made up their mind. If someone backed down just because something might happen in the future, that would make them a deserter.

Gu Huayuan had already been on the battlefield before. He didn’t run then—why would he run now? Impossible.

Hearing this, Su Weizhen felt discouraged. In the end, she could only say helplessly, “We still have to try. Otherwise, I’ll never feel at ease.”

The next day at the chicken farm, Su Weizhen invited Xiao Qiao to dinner.

Xiao Qiao had just put the chubby cat in its place and was in a very good mood. Hearing that Su Weizhen was inviting them for dinner, she beamed. “Zhenzhen, you’re too polite. You’re always treating us to meals. Not this time—it’s our turn. I’ll cook. Ahem, my Old Gu actually has pretty decent cooking skills.”

Su Weizhen thought about it and agreed. They were just going to talk anyway, so it didn’t matter whose house they ate at.

“There’s something I want to tell you tonight.”

“Sure, it’s been a while since our two families sat down and chatted.” Lin Qiao said cheerfully.

Seeing her so carefree made Su Weizhen’s heart ache.

She was no longer optimistic about changing Gu Huayuan’s fate.

“Xiao Qiao…”

“Mm?” Lin Qiao was checking the chick incubators, making notes nest by nest.

She hadn’t noticed anything unusual about Su Weizhen.

“Xiao Qiao, we’ll always be good friends. No matter what happens in the future, don’t be afraid. Xu and I will always help you.”

“…I know. We’ve always been good friends.” Lin Qiao finally turned around to look at her.

“Yes. We’re good friends.” Su Weizhen smiled and nodded.

At noon, Lin Qiao began rummaging around the house.

Gu Huayuan saw her digging through boxes and asked, “What are you looking for?”

“Food. I’m seeing whether we still have anything good at home. We’re inviting Zhenzhen and Xu Yuanzheng for dinner tonight. It slipped my mind—when you were in the hospital, it was always them who cooked for us. We should’ve returned the favor.”

Lin Qiao knocked on her head, feeling she’d taken things too much for granted. Because the two families were close, she hadn’t paid attention to etiquette.

Now that she thought about it, she really shouldn’t have acted that way.

“Zhenzhen even said she wanted to invite us for dinner tonight. How could I possibly let her treat us again? So I figured we should just invite them to our place instead.”

Gu Huayuan was familiar with everything at home. He went to the cupboard and found some preserved ingredients.

It wasn’t convenient to go out and buy things these days, so everything they had were items that could be stored long-term.

Lin Qiao said, “Zhenzhen always invites us over for soup, but I never have anything good enough to make soup with.”

As she spoke, she glanced toward the old hen clucking in the yard.

The hen immediately grew alert, staring at her. The two of them—one human, one chicken—locked eyes without moving.

Gu Huayuan asked, “Should we butcher it?”

“No!” Lin Qiao refused on the spot. She looked at the hen again, which had resumed pecking at the ground leisurely. “She’s our family’s great hero.”

Both the previous chicken farm and the current one only existed because this hen had hatched the very first clutch of eggs, leading to generation after generation.

All the chickens on the farm were descendants of this very hen.

“Forget it, next time I’ll make something better for Zhenzhen.”

By noon, Lin Qiao was already planning what to make for dinner. She had no choice—her cooking skills were too poor. She could only rely on Gu Huayuan to hold down the fort.

“When we eat later, I’m going to chat with Zhenzhen. You take Old Xu out for a walk,” she instructed during lunch.

“I feel like Zhenzhen has something weighing on her mind. She seems unhappy. Pregnant women shouldn’t carry burdens—I need to talk to her.”

Hearing that, Gu Huayuan said, “Maybe she’s the one planning to talk to you.”

“Huh?”

Lin Qiao asked, “What would she possibly need to talk me about?”

Gu Huayuan chuckled.

“Don’t you play dumb! Say it clearly!” Lin Qiao puffed her cheeks at him.

“It’s only a guess. Maybe I’m wrong. But whatever she tells you later, try not to get too emotional. Remember, you’ve got a little parasite in your head waiting to feed on your energy.” He said it lightly, but he actually thought it was very likely.

His injury this time must have had a bigger impact than they realized.

He didn’t warn Lin Qiao about anything else.

If Old Xu and his wife were willing to reveal their secret because of him, then they were people worth entrusting one’s life to.

No need to be on guard against them.

Lin Qiao glared at him in dissatisfaction. “Annoying! Always saying half a sentence!”

That evening, both families returned earlier than usual.

Lin Qiao didn’t go to teach her training classes and came back early to prepare the food.

Xu Yuanzheng saw this and simply told Lin Qiao to go chat with Su Weizhen while he helped Gu Huayuan.

Lin Qiao didn’t hold back. “Comrade Old Xu, you really need to learn. Your cooking skills are just not suitable for feeding Zhenzhen. Look at my Old Gu’s cooking—his level is this.” She held up her index finger to show it.

Xu Yuanzheng: “…What does that mean?”

“Zhenzhen is the thumb. He’s not as good as Zhenzhen—so he’s the index finger.”

“…”

Gu Huayuan laughed. “Then wouldn’t Old Xu be the pinky?”

“The pinky is me. Comrade Old Xu can be the ring finger.”

Xu Yuanzheng: “…Thank you, Comrade Xiao Qiao, for your generous ranking.”

With Old Xu helping out, Lin Qiao was able to relax and chat with Su Weizhen. Keeping a pregnant woman company and easing her mood was an important task.

She deliberately chose light topics to make Su Weizhen smile.

But Su Weizhen only grew more nervous inside.

Xiao Qiao was so carefree now—if she knew what would happen in the future, would she still be able to smile like this?

But she couldn’t turn back now.

Men weren’t as meticulous when cooking. Gu Huayuan didn’t take long to stir-fry a few dishes. But Xu Yuanzheng admired him—he could tell this man must’ve done a lot of cooking.

He started reflecting on himself.

After all, Zhenzhen had said that in the future, men cooking would already be mainstream. A man who couldn’t cook would have trouble finding a wife.

Looking at Gu Huayuan again—he was good in every way. Such an outstanding comrade—if he were to die young, it would be a terrible waste.

Gu Huayuan handed him the dishes. “Alright, take these over. And stop looking at me like I’m about to sacrifice myself.”

Xu Yuanzheng nearly dropped the plate.