Chapter 109 - 107: Trivial Matters
Li Xiu was a man of his word. To let Zhou Lian study in peace, he slept several hours less each day during the busy farming season, handling the laundry, cooking, and all the housework.
Time flew by. While Zhou Lian was completely engrossed in her studies, oblivious to the world outside, Zhou Xiang of the Zhou family got married. Li Xiu, Zhou Lian, and their daughter went to attend and stayed for the better part of the day. This led Zhou Lian to grumble about wasting so much time, which left Li Xiu at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. It was her own sister’s wedding, after all. But then again, besides presenting a gift for the dowry, there wasn’t much for her to do. As a married older sister, she wasn’t even needed to help send Zhou Xiang off.
In the Li family, Li Bao had also taken a wife, and Li Yun had gotten engaged—to the person Li Xiu had helped pick out. Li Hua was also engaged, to the same person from his previous life. However, on the day of Li Hua’s engagement ceremony, Li Xiu’s family of three did not attend. When Second Brother Li sent Li Yong to invite them, Li Xiu didn’t even bother making an excuse, stating bluntly, "I can’t stand Li Hua. I’m not going!"
At the time, all three branches of the Li family understood the situation perfectly, and no one questioned it. Li Hua, however, secretly resented Li Xiu for not giving him any face. Word of this eventually reached Li Xiu’s ears, but he just scoffed, not even bothering to give it a second thought.
After Zhou Lian had memorized all the books Li Xiu had bought for her, he took her and their child to the county town to stay for half a month. He gave the school principal half a pig in exchange for two weeks of math tutoring for Zhou Lian.
Li Xiu gathered the college entrance exam papers from the past two years, wrote down the questions he remembered from his past life, and gave them all to Zhou Lian. He had her drill through the questions over and over again. Finally, he asked the principal to give her a mock exam. Seeing the principal’s shocked expression, Li Xiu smiled, full of satisfaction. ’He had said it before: whatever his wife wanted, he would do everything in his power to help her achieve it. Since his wife wanted to go to college, he would most certainly send her to college.’
They registered her, got the admission ticket, and made sure everything was ready. The night before the exam, Li Xiu held Zhou Lian in his arms as they lay in bed, murmuring, "Bao’er, don’t be nervous. I’ll take you to the exam site tomorrow." The exam was being held at the county middle school.
Zhou Lian smiled and said to him, "I’m not nervous. You’ve done everything you could, and I’ve given it my all these past three months. The rest is up to fate."
"Yes, it’s good that you think that way, Bao’er," Li Xiu said softly. "When you go to college, our daughter and I will go with you. We’ll rent a place near your school so you won’t have to live in the dorms. Our daughter and I will walk you to and from your classes. I’ll stay home, take care of the baby, and do the housework. You just focus on your studies."
"Is that really okay?"
"I’ve already planned it all out. Once your acceptance letter arrives, I’ll take care of all the little details. You don’t need to worry about any of it. After the exam, just get some good rest and eat well to get your strength back. You’ve gotten thinner."
Zhou Lian had worked very hard these past three months. Even though Li Xiu made her nutritious meals and tasty food every day, she still lost a lot of weight, which broke his heart.
"Go to sleep, Bao’er. You have to get up early tomorrow," Li Xiu said, gently patting Zhou Lian to lull her to sleep.
Gazing at the sleeping Zhou Lian, Li Xiu quietly mulled things over. ’Our daughter is over six months old now—chubby and adorable. Once my wife’s acceptance letter comes, we’ll wean her. We have sheep at home, so she can drink goat’s milk.’
’When the acceptance letter arrives, everyone in the village will find out. I’ll have to host a few banquet tables and invite the villagers and our relatives to celebrate for my wife.’
’It’ll probably cause another huge stir, but I don’t care about that. Nothing is more important than making my wife happy!’
Li Xiu wasn’t worried at all that Zhou Lian might not pass. After all, with an ace in the hole like him, it would be difficult for her to fail even if she tried.
However, Li Xiu also regretted not having been more thoughtful. ’If only I had thought of all this last year when she first married into the family, my wife wouldn’t have had to work so hard.’
He carefully went over everything in his mind once more to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Only then did Li Xiu gently kiss his wife’s forehead, pull her closer, and slowly drift off to sleep.
Before dawn, Li Xiu got up quietly. He cooked breakfast, laid out the clothes Zhou Lian would wear for the day by the bedside, and got their daughter cleaned up before finally waking his wife.
Li Xiu, holding their daughter, chuckled as he looked at the drowsy Zhou Lian. ’His wife looked so cute in her half-asleep state, just like the tabby cat his grandmother used to have.’
"Bao’er, hurry and get up to wash up. The food is getting cold."
Zhou Lian sat up and shot him a glare. ’Don’t think I didn’t hear you laughing just now. You were definitely laughing at me.’
After washing up, Zhou Lian stared at the food on the table, stunned for a moment. ’What time did this man wake up? There are soup dumplings and millet congee cooked until it’s perfectly soft. Making these dumplings, from proofing the dough to preparing the filling, must have taken at least two hours.’
"Hurry and eat. I made your favorite soup dumplings," Li Xiu said, placing a few of them on Zhou Lian’s plate.
Zhou Lian lowered her eyes, not letting Li Xiu see the emotion in them. ’Affection is a two-way street. In response to Li Xiu’s deep love and devotion, she was now doing her best to reciprocate his feelings. Faced with the man Li Xiu had become, she truly couldn’t bear to let him down.’
Li Xiu held their daughter and watched his wife eat with relish, a smile on his face. He gazed at her as if admiring a beautiful masterpiece, his eyes bold and undisguised.
When Zhou Lian looked up and met the man’s gaze, an involuntary blush crept up her cheeks. ’Honestly, this man... But she had to admit, seeing Li Xiu like this also made her heart flutter. A handsome, roguish man holding their chubby little daughter, smiling as he watched her... Wasn’t this his own form of teasing?’
’Has he forgotten she has an exam today?’ "Li Xiu, if you keep looking at me like that, I won’t want to go take my exam anymore!"
Hearing his wife’s tender voice, Li Xiu couldn’t help but laugh. ’His wife was teasing him!’
Giving Zhou Lian a roguish smile, Li Xiu carried their daughter out of the kitchen.
Watching Li Xiu’s retreating back, Zhou Lian felt a little intimidated. ’That man isn’t going to do something crazy right now, is he? He knows I have my exam today.’
"I can’t be bothered with you," Zhou Lian muttered. "Where’s Nuonuo? She can roll over and sit up now, don’t let her bump into anything." Inwardly, she was already scolding herself. ’Next time, I really can’t provoke him.’