By the time he met the fifth woman, Xue Li couldn’t take it anymore and confessed that he already had a girlfriend, declaring that he would bring her home for lunch.
Xue’s mother didn’t believe him at first, but after his smooth-talking persuasion, she finally half-believed him.
When no one answered the door, Xue Li reached inside to open the courtyard gate and stood in the middle of the yard, calling out, “Dr. Yu, I’m here to pick you up.”
After a while, Xue Li frowned and muttered to himself, “They shouldn’t be out. Did they already go to the state-run restaurant for lunch?”
On the train, their meals had consisted entirely of the instant noodles Wen Ci had brought.
Eating them once or twice was fine, but too much instant noodles made them feel sick.
Besides, state-run restaurants were only available in big cities like the provincial capital.
Suddenly, the window of the second-floor bedroom slowly opened, and Yu Qing appeared, looking drowsy. She called out, “Keep your voice down. I’ll be right there.”
There were rooms both upstairs and downstairs, but Yu Qing didn’t dare to sleep alone in such a big house, so she shared a bed with Wen Ci for a sense of security.
“Oh, okay,” Xue Li immediately covered his mouth.
A moment later, Yu Qing came downstairs, still half-asleep. She had combed her hair and spoke softly, “Wen Ci is asleep. Let’s keep our voices down.”
On the green train, Wen Ci hadn’t slept much at night. Now that she knew Commander Huo was out of danger, the weight on her heart had finally lifted.
Su Guilan stood outside the gate.
She hesitated, feeling a bit conflicted.
When Xue Li and Yu Qing stepped out, they noticed the middle-aged woman at the gate. Frowning, Yu Qing asked, “Who’s this?”
“She’s Wen Ci’s mother.”
Hearing this, Yu Qing gave Su Guilan a strange look, finally meeting the woman who had abandoned her own flesh and blood!
They were both women.
Yu Qing couldn’t understand why someone would treat their own child like this. After all, a child is a piece of your own flesh and blood.
Yu Qing spoke unhurriedly, “Wen Ci is asleep. I hope Auntie doesn’t disturb her!”
She emphasized the word “Auntie.”
With that, Yu Qing closed the courtyard gate again.
Although Xue Li was a bit slow, he could sense the sarcasm in Dr. Yu’s tone. Frowning, he whispered, “Auntie is Sister-in-law’s birth mother. Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”
“What’s inappropriate about it?”
Xue Li silently shut his mouth and opened the car door for Su Guilan, saying, “Auntie, we’ll be going now.”
Su Guilan nodded.
Her gaze drifted toward the second-floor bedroom, her eyes softening with a hint of tenderness. Perhaps, as her son had said, bringing Wen Ci back from a poor mountain village had given her hope, only to crush it by sending her to the northwest as a substitute bride.
Tears welled up in Su Guilan’s eyes.
But that hadn’t been her intention.
Wen Ci had grown up in the countryside, without any formal education. For someone like her, marrying Huo Jingyuan was already a stroke of luck.
Suddenly, a neighbor passing by recognized Su Guilan and asked with a smile, “Oh, has your daughter and Old Commander Huo’s grandson come back?”
Su Guilan hid her emotions. Few people knew about Huo Jingyuan’s severe injuries. After all, Old Commander Huo had mentored many, and the news needed to be kept quiet.
“Yes, the kids are back on vacation to visit me.”
“You’re so lucky.”
·
In the car, Xue Li gripped the steering wheel, but his eyes kept darting toward Yu Qing. Curious, he asked, “Dr. Yu, did you dress up specially?”
“Yeah.”
While sunbathing, Wen Ci had suggested she dress up a bit. Even if she was just pretending to be his girlfriend, it was her first visit to his home, and she wanted to make a good impression.
Suddenly, Yu Qing remembered something and said with a gentle smile, “Let’s stop by the mall later to buy something. It’s not good to show up empty-handed.”
“That’s too much!”
Yu Qing looked at Xue Li and blinked, “What are you thinking? I’m pretending to be your girlfriend. Of course, you’re paying for the gifts.”
The truth was, she didn’t have much money. As the capital, Beijing’s prices were undoubtedly high, so it was better to let Xue Li cover the cost of the gifts.
When they passed the mall, Xue Li bought the most popular gift set available. As he paid, Yu Qing’s eyes widened in shock.
Such a small set of items cost a hundred yuan!
That was several months’ worth of her salary.
Noticing Yu Qing’s sudden change in mood, Xue Li asked, “Dr. Yu, what’s wrong? You seem upset all of a sudden.”
“It’s nothing.”
Yu Qing let out a long sigh.
Although she had mentally prepared herself, she was still shocked by the prices in the capital. “By the way, you can’t call me Dr. Yu anymore. You have to call me Yu Qing.”
“Dr. Yu” sounded too formal and didn’t fit the image of a couple in love.
“Isn’t Yu Qing a bit too serious?”
“A little.”
Xue Li tentatively asked, “How about A-Qing, or Qingqing?”
Hearing Xue Li’s tone, Yu Qing felt goosebumps all over. Aside from her father, no man had ever called her by such an intimate nickname. “How about Comrade Yu Qing? If your parents ask, we can say it’s part of our northwestern culture.”
Hearing this, Xue Li pouted and muttered under his breath, “That’s even less affectionate than Dr. Yu.”
“What did you say?” Yu Qing didn’t catch his words.
“Nothing.”
Xue Li quickly changed the subject.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Xue family compound. This was the ancestral home of the Xue family. Thanks to their exceptional medical skills, their property hadn’t been confiscated in previous years, so it had been preserved.
As they entered the Xue family compound, Yu Qing caught the scent of various herbs. She sniffed the air, her eyes lighting up. “I smell wild ginseng.”
The mention of “wild ginseng” reminded Xue Li of something. He leaned closer to Yu Qing and whispered, “If my parents give you ginseng as a gift, make sure to accept it. We can take it back to help Commander Huo recover.”
“Huh? They’d give ginseng as a gift?”
“Yeah,” Xue Li replied.
His mother loved giving ginseng as gifts.
Ten-year-old ginseng, hundred-year-old ginseng, even ginseng that was several centuries old!
The Xue family compound was much larger than the military-assigned apartments. They had to pass through a small entrance hall to reach the main hall.
“Is this Sister-in-law?”
Suddenly, a small boy appeared in Yu Qing’s line of sight. Dressed in a Zhongshan suit and holding a medical book, the boy looked spirited as he asked.
Xue Li glanced at the boy. “None of your business.”
After returning to the Xue family after several years, his younger brother, whom he hadn’t seen much, had started clinging to him, always hovering around and annoying him.
Yu Qing elbowed Xue Li and scolded, “How can you talk to a child like that?”
“Exactly,” Xue Chongsu chimed in.
Then he introduced himself, “Hello, Sister-in-law. I’m his biological brother, Xue Chongsu. ‘Chong’ as in ‘lofty mountains,’ and ‘Su’ as in ‘year after year.’”
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