B5SB -Chapter 268 Comparison

As soon as Haohao closed his eyes and fell asleep, Gu Yihan carefully got out of bed.

She stood by the wardrobe, changed into a pullover nightdress, and tiptoed back.

She was worried that moving too much would wake the little one. She wasn’t sure if it was because he had napped at school that day, but every night, if he was woken up midway, he would be wide awake—no amount of sleepiness could force him to keep his eyes closed.

“Creak…”

The sound of Lu Huailin pushing open the wooden door echoed through the bedroom, the drawn-out creak making her scalp tingle.

Gu Yihan flinched and quickly glanced at the bed. She saw Haohao furrow his small brows slightly, turn over, and continue sleeping.

She raised her hand to her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

Then she shot a cold glance at the culprit, Lu Huailin, snorted, twisted her waist, and sat down at the dressing table, ignoring him.

Seeing Gu Yihan’s little gesture, Lu Huailin let out a low chuckle.

While drying his damp hair with a towel, he stretched his neck to look at the small mound on the bed and deliberately asked softly, “Wife, has Haohao fallen asleep?”

Gu Yihan finished applying her snow cream, picked up a book from the dressing table, and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Annoyed, she said, “Are you seriously asking, knowing full well the answer?”

Seeing his wife annoyed, Lu Huailin quickly put the towel on the chair and strode forward to embrace her.

He bent down and kissed her forehead, gently coaxing, “Wife, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed the door so hard. Tomorrow I’ll oil it; I promise it won’t make such a noise again.”

Gu Yihan wrinkled her nose and snorted, “I don’t believe you!”

In this era, wooden doors make noise no matter how well you fix or oil them.

Lu Huailin silently laughed.

Then he pressed his whole body against his wife, lowering his head to kiss her soft, fragrant lips.

Gu Yihan quickly pushed him away and looked up at him.

“No, we can’t! It will wake Haohao!” she refused.

Lu Huailin glanced at their obstructive son, feeling frustrated. Even showing affection to his wife had to consider the kid’s sleep quality.

“Wife, you can’t expect me to be a monk just because of this little brat!”

Listening to the complaint in his tone, Gu Yihan’s gaze involuntarily swept toward the lively little Haohao.

She thought he had a point. Not only did he have physiological needs, but so did she. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

“Don’t worry, wife. I have a plan.”

Saying that, Lu Huailin gave her a meaningful look and reached for the switch tied to the headboard.

The bedroom was instantly plunged into darkness. Gu Yihan opened her big eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden blackness.

Lu Huailin strode over, took her hand, and placed it around his neck.

Their bodies pressed closely together, and in the dark, their senses were heightened; they could clearly hear each other’s breathing.

Suddenly, Lu Huailin lifted his wife, wrapping her legs around his waist.

Gu Yihan froze in the dark. She couldn’t see their positions but felt like a koala clinging to him.

He deliberately blew a warm breath near her ear.

Instinctively, she shrank her neck, avoiding the sensitive area.

A low voice came near her ear: “Wife, today we’re going to try something different.”

In that instant, Gu Yihan felt like a small boat without buoyancy, clutching Lu Huailin’s neck tightly, afraid of sinking into the sea.

Afterwards, Gu Yihan lay in Lu Huailin’s arms, exhausted, and weakly said, “Don’t lend any money to Deputy Battalion Commander Wang. Not a single cent.”

Lu Huailin paused, “Wife, is it because your man didn’t work hard today that you have time to worry about these trivial things?”

In the darkness, Gu Yihan rolled her eyes and said irritably, “I’m serious!”

“Alright, wife. But did Deputy Battalion Commander Wang offend you?”

Lu Huailin gently stroked his wife’s silky back while suppressing a smile and asked softly.

“He and his ex-wife offended me,” Gu Yihan said angrily.

Then she told him about Wang’s entanglement with Lan Cao, and about being stopped on her way back to the compound today.

Hearing this, Lu Huailin frowned and nodded. “Don’t worry, wife. Not a single cent of our money will go to him.”

Gu Yihan nodded and soon fell asleep from exhaustion.

The next morning, Lu Huailin, carrying Haohao, had just closed the courtyard gate and hadn’t walked two steps when the neighbors’ men also came out carrying their children.

Zhou Jun, holding Zhou Ni, smiled and greeted Lu Huailin, “Commander Lu, what a coincidence!”

Lu Huailin and Haohao, one big and one small, looked at him expressionlessly.

Coincidence? Hardly.

Ever since Zhou Jun sent Zhou Ni to school, he had worried that the neighbors would gossip about him being henpecked. So he deliberately walked at the same time every morning, going with them to school.

Haohao glanced at Zhou Jun holding Zhou Ni, wrinkled his little nose, and turned his head to rest on Lu Huailin’s shoulder.

Deputy Battalion Commander Wang, carrying Chun Cao, came up to Zhou Jun and Lu Huailin.

Smiling, he said, “Commander Zhou, Commander Lu, good morning!”

“Your daughter woke up quite early?” Zhou Jun glanced at the little girl who was looking down like a quail and teased.

“Hehe, my Chun Cao also went to kindergarten.”

“From now on, we can send the kids to school together.”

Deputy Battalion Commander Wang smiled at Lu Huailin and Zhou Jun.

Zhang Xia, pregnant, couldn’t take care of Chun Cao herself and didn’t trust her mother to do it, so she had no choice but to send her to kindergarten. Thinking about the five yuan monthly tuition, he felt a pang of regret.

Zhou Jun was surprised, looking at Deputy Battalion Commander Wang, puzzled. “Why are you sending your child to school?”

Lu Huailin glanced at Zhou Jun, who clearly had ulterior motives, and smirked.

Deputy Battalion Commander Wang didn’t catch Zhou Jun’s implication. He walked alongside them, holding Chun Cao, smiling: “Just like you guys.”

“Just like us?”

Zhou Jun paused, shook his head, and said, “My wife needs to work at school, Commander Lu’s wife works at the textile factory… and your wife?”

The unspoken implication: what does your wife do? Why doesn’t she have time to take her child to school?

Men in the army, though they don’t say it openly, like to compare themselves and show off their family status in public.

Even if at home they kneel at the washboard for their wives, outside they like to boast and don’t want anyone saying they can’t be in charge.

Deputy Battalion Commander Wang froze and only realized Zhou Jun’s implication after a while. A flicker of displeasure crossed his eyes.

Smiling on the surface, he explained: “My wife isn’t feeling well today, so I helped send her just this once.”

Then he glanced at Lu Huailin, recalling how he had been humiliated when asking for a loan, and smiled: “Better than Lu Commander’s wife, who has never once sent her child to school.”

Zhou Jun: “……”

Indeed, Gu Yihan had never taken Haohao to school herself. Even when Lu Huailin went on missions, he would arrange for He Shengli to help with the drop-off.

Lu Huailin narrowed his eyes and shot a cold glance at Deputy Battalion Commander Wang.

He sneered, “Who told you my wife is lucky enough to marry such a capable man like me!”

Upon hearing this, Deputy Battalion Commander Wang’s face darkened. Lu Huailin was indirectly mocking his incompetence.