Chapter 258: He Seems to Lack a Sense of Security
Chapter 258: Chapter 258: He Seems to Lack a Sense of Security
Xiao Yuanming saw Shu Xue was about to catch up to Xie Huaizheng. How could he possibly let her get her way?
He immediately blocked Shu Xue’s path. "Comrade, why don’t we grab a bite? After you eat, you can go look for Camp Commander Xie."
"Get out of my way! I’m not eating!"
The moment Shu Xue finished speaking, her stomach GROWLED loudly, as if in protest.
Hearing the sound her stomach made, Shu Xue couldn’t help but blush.
Xiao Yuanming’s eyes crinkled in a smile. "Come on. See? Even your stomach is telling you it’s starving. Don’t worry, Brother Zheng is right here on the base. He’s not going to run off."
Shu Xue was still frustrated about letting Xie Huaizheng just walk away.
But when she looked up, Xie Huaizheng’s figure had already vanished. She stamped her foot in frustration.
’Forget it, forget it. I’ll deal with this after I eat. I really am hungry.’
Especially after the past few days. The journey here had been exhausting, and she hadn’t eaten anything decent, just gnawed on dry rations the whole way.
She was long sick of it. Shu Xue decided she would find Xie Huaizheng after she finished her meal.
Xiao Yuanming led Shu Xue to the canteen and got her a plate of braised pork in soy sauce, a fried egg, eggplant with green beans, and sweet and sour crispy pork.
Shu Xue looked at the bowl piled high with meat and couldn’t help but gulp.
’This smells incredible!’
But, remembering she had to maintain a ladylike demeanor, she shot Xiao Yuanming a look. "This is too much. I can’t possibly finish it all."
’I could finish it, but I’m a girl. I have to maintain my image in public.’
Xiao Yuanming froze for a second, then picked up her mess tin. "Well, don’t let it go to waste. Give some to me."
As he spoke, he made a move to scoop the meat from her mess tin into his own bowl.
Seeing this, Shu Xue cried out in a panic, "Don’t you dare touch my food!"
She snatched the mess tin back and immediately started to dig in.
Xiao Yuanming watched her wolf down the food, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
’You could tell she was genuinely starving. So if she was this hungry, what was that whole act about just now?’
’He really didn’t understand this woman.’
Meanwhile, when Xie Huaizheng returned home, Su Zhaozhao had already prepared dinner: steamed spareribs with taro, a stir-fried vegetable dish, scrambled eggs with green beans, and a bowl of chicken soup.
The chicken and the broth were both from her pocket dimension. The meat was exceptionally tender, and the soup, simmered with spiritual spring water, was light, savory, and subtly sweet.
It would not only alleviate Xie Huaizheng’s fatigue after a long day of training, but also improve his physical constitution.
The flavor was also superb.
Xie Huaizheng had a sip of the soup and couldn’t help but exclaim, "This is delicious, Zhaozhao. Your cooking is even better than the chefs at those fancy restaurants!"
Su Zhaozhao beamed. "You’re exaggerating."
However, as her eyes rested on Xie Huaizheng’s face, she couldn’t help but ask, "Did something happen? You seem upset."
Xie Huaizheng paused. He had done his best to conceal his dark mood before coming home, precisely because he didn’t want Su Zhaozhao to see it.
’So she’d sensed it anyway?’
He didn’t want to upset Su Zhaozhao, so he decided not to mention Shu Xue.
"It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired from training."
"Then you should get some rest early tonight."
"Okay."
After dinner, Xie Huaizheng automatically cleared the table and went to wash the dishes while Su Zhaozhao sat in the living room grading papers.
Now that she’d been teaching for a few days, it was time to start assigning homework.
The first assignments were still quite simple, though—just copying the 26 letters of the alphabet and some basic words.
When Xie Huaizheng came out of the kitchen, he saw Su Zhaozhao hunched over the living room table, grading papers.
The table in the living room was a low coffee table.
Su Zhaozhao had pulled over a small stool to sit on, but even so, she still had to bend and hunch over her work.
She had tied all her hair up, and her slender, fair neck seemed to gleam under the incandescent light, almost dazzlingly so.
Xie Huaizheng couldn’t help but narrow his eyes as he walked toward her.
Su Zhaozhao was still engrossed in her writing. Xie Huaizheng came up close behind her, and watching her focused expression, he didn’t have the heart to disturb her.
He also noticed that her English handwriting was excellent—very fluid. It was clear she had used it a great deal in the past.
’It seems I’ll have to do everything I can to support her in getting into a university.’
They might have to live apart once Su Zhaozhao started university, but Xie Huaizheng felt that he wouldn’t regret it.
He had always wanted Su Zhaozhao to become even more exceptional, because she was, by nature, a girl who always strived for more.
’She couldn’t be held back by marriage.’
He wanted to lift her up, to help her reach greater heights, not to imprison her in a cage.
After a little while, Su Zhaozhao finished writing. She tilted her head back and realized her neck was incredibly sore.
Seeing this, Xie Huaizheng reached out and began to massage her neck and shoulders.
"I think we need to buy a proper desk. Since we’re not planning on having children for the next few years, why don’t we turn the guest room into a study?"
If they weren’t having children, that room would most likely go unused.
His parents weren’t likely to come all this way to stay, and even if they did, they could just tidy up the room for them then.
Turning it into a study for now was a good idea.
Su Zhaozhao didn’t object. "Okay! I think we need a study too. I’ll need a place for my own reading and studying in the future."
She was already reading the books that Li Tiantian had given her, though she hadn’t started studying them systematically yet. But that would come soon enough.
"Great. Leave it to me. On my next day off, we’ll go into the city together and pick out a desk and a bookshelf."
"Okay!"
Su Zhaozhao leaned into Xie Huaizheng’s arms, soft and pliant, as if she were boneless.
His muscles were hard, which wasn’t actually the most comfortable, but his embrace was so broad and strong it made Su Zhaozhao feel incredibly secure.
Xie Huaizheng gently squeezed Su Zhaozhao’s shoulders. Seeing the natural, dependent way she leaned into his embrace filled his heart with a melting warmth.
He couldn’t resist leaning in and planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Zhaozhao, I’m so grateful that you chose to be with me."
’Thinking of Shu Xue’s appearance today, perhaps this was how fate was meant to unfold.’
’If it had been Shu Xue who came to him back then, instead of Su Zhaozhao, he most likely wouldn’t be married right now.’
’Shu Xue’s personality and temperament were not his type at all.’
But Su Zhaozhao was different. When she smiled, her eyes curved into sweet crescents, and it made him want to pluck the very stars from the sky for her.
"Me too," Su Zhaozhao replied. She sensed something was different about Xie Huaizheng tonight. ’Why does he seem so insecure?’
Upon hearing her response, he swooped her up into his arms, carrying her over to the nearby sofa and sitting down with her.
Then, he tilted her chin up and kissed her.
His kiss was fierce and sudden, leaving her no room to breathe.
Su Zhaozhao’s hands went from clutching the fabric of his shirt to wrapping around his neck.
She responded with equal fervor.
’She didn’t know why he was feeling so insecure, but she was more than willing to give him all the security he needed.’