After finalizing the details and delivery date with Director Wang, Ji Shuyu left the supply and marketing cooperative with the money.
Ji Shuyu was in high spirits. With this eight hundred yuan deposited, she’d even have some left over.
She calculated that it would probably cost just over five hundred yuan to manage everything.
After this deposit, the mall would level up. Once the currency exchange rate improved, it would be pure profit from then on.
The initial profits certainly wouldn’t be huge.
Thinking about this, she glanced at He Yuan beside her.
She noticed his eyes were slightly downcast, his thick eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath them, his thin lips pressed together as if deep in thought.
Her heart stirred. He Yuan was rarely like this, especially in front of her.
Back in the cooperative, he had been looking at her with clear admiration in his eyes. Why had that changed now that they were outside?
“He Yuan?” Ji Shuyu slowed her pace and gently tugged his sleeve. “What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”
Hearing her voice, He Yuan stopped walking and looked at her.
The golden glow of the sunset fell on her fair face. Her bright eyes clearly reflected his image, filled with concern.
Her radiance was dazzling, even in such an ordinary twilight.
His Adam’s apple moved. That indescribable emotion coiled inside him like a vine, making it difficult to speak.
He Yuan, who never knew fear on the battlefield, who commanded his troops with strict discipline—when had he ever been so hesitant?
Yet, the feeling was so real he couldn’t ignore it.
“Nothing,” he said, his voice low, habitually trying to conceal it.
“You’re lying.” Ji Shuyu stopped walking, turned to face him directly, and looked up slightly. “There’s definitely something. You were fine inside, but now you seem off.”
“He Yuan, I don’t like it when you keep things from me.” Her tone was serious, her gaze fixed intently on him.
He Yuan lowered his gaze. The thought he had tried to suppress finally broke through.
He took a deep breath. The sea wind filled his lungs, carrying a slight chill.
“I’m not keeping anything from you,” He Yuan shook his head, his voice low, tinged with self-mockery as he confessed. “Shuyu, you did very well, exceptionally well. Director Wang was right—you are the Goddess of Wealth.”
Ji Shuyu blinked, waiting for his ‘but.’
He Yuan avoided her overly bright gaze, looking instead at the sparkling sea in the distance, his voice growing even softer. “I just feel… I might not be good enough for you.”
It was just a moment, a single instant, but this thought had sprouted and grown wildly like weeds.
“Huh?” Ji Shuyu was completely stunned, wondering if she had misheard.
Not good enough?
Why would he think that? It’s so absurd…
He Yuan turned his head, the tips of his ears slightly red.
“You’re smart, capable, full of ideas. With the supply and marketing cooperative matter, I couldn’t help at all. I could only stand by and watch. Just now, everything you said sounded fresh and impressive to me, but none of it is something I can provide for you.”
He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, his brow slightly furrowed.
“Before, you relied on me, and I always felt it was natural to protect you. But now, you can make your life prosperous and successful on your own.”
“Shuyu, you’re flying higher and higher. I’m a little afraid I can’t keep up, afraid that apart from this military uniform, I have nothing that can truly help you.”
His last few words were spoken very softly, yet they struck Ji Shuyu’s heart like a heavy hammer.
But then again, every profession has its specialty; everyone has their own strengths.
He couldn’t, for his own selfish desires, keep her confined at home forever.
She was meant to shine, to be a woman with aspirations.
Ji Shuyu never expected that this man, who had always been as reliable as a mountain in her eyes, harbored such insecurities in his heart.
She felt a bit helpless, but also incredibly happy inside.
His sense of inferiority stemmed from her capabilities.
He feared that one day he might not be good enough for her precisely because of the intelligence and talent she displayed.
Wasn’t this, in its own way, a form of praise and admiration for her?
“He Yuan, what nonsense are you talking about?”
She stepped forward, cupping his well-defined face in her hands, forcing him to look at her.
Ji Shuyu’s palms were warm and soft, a pleasant sensation.
“What do you mean, ‘not good enough’? He Yuan, you’re my man, a soldier who stands tall between heaven and earth. You protect this entire island, thousands of families. Isn’t that the greatest skill, the greatest value?”
“Without you, without soldiers like you standing guard, no matter how capable I am, could I do my work here safely and securely?”
At this point, Ji Shuyu tilted her head, her eyes blazing.
“You can handle a gun, you can lead troops, you can rescue people in stormy seas. These are things I could never do.”
“What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. Why should you devalue yourself because of the things I can do?”
Her hands tightened slightly on his face, and her voice softened.
“You protect the greater community, and I’ll take care of our small family. In my heart, you will always be my hero, my support.”
Although initially, her motives hadn’t been entirely pure.
It was only with He Yuan that she could find stability.
But through their time together, she felt he was a truly qualified husband.
She didn’t have much experience with love and could only figure things out step by step.
These words came from Ji Shuyu’s heart.
She genuinely admired everyone who sacrificed themselves for the greater good.
Their spirit of dedication was more precious than anything else.
He Yuan looked at her, listening to her heartfelt words, warmth spreading through his heart.
So, in her radiant world, he was still that unshakable foundation.
It wasn’t about not being good enough, but about needing each other, complementing each other.
Ji Shuyu’s words dispelled all the unease in He Yuan’s heart.
His deep eyes once again gathered a gentle yet firm light.
He Yuan raised his hand, covering hers that held his face, gently grasping it. Then he lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers.
“Mhm.”
That single, low and husky word contained a thousand unspoken ones.
He rubbed against her slightly cool forehead, feeling her breath.
His voice carried relief and a tenderness she had never heard before: “I understand. I was being foolish. Shuyu, I’m sorry for worrying you.”
Ji Shuyu gently bumped his forehead with hers. “Good that you know. Don’t think such nonsense from now on, and don’t… undervalue yourself.”
He Yuan let out a low chuckle. “Mhm, I won’t dare.”
He looked into her eyes and said seriously, “My Shuyu is the best. Being your support is my blessing.”
His little wife, no matter how high she soared, her heart would always be tied to him.
They were, after all, each other’s strongest backing and warmest harbor.
“Alright, let’s go home. Mom said she wanted us back early today.”
Ji Shuyu tugged He Yuan’s hand as she spoke, only to hear him exclaim in surprise.
“Oh no! I forgot today is the day He Ze and He Han are coming home!”
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