Chapter 327| Chapter 328| Chapter 329
Chapter 327: Gossip in the Family Courtyard
Although the country would eventually enter a period of reform and opening up two years down the line, a major shift was already looming. Many veteran intellectuals were preparing to return to the city. But for every old-timer who reclaimed their seat, someone else would inevitably be squeezed out. Who the unlucky ones would be depended entirely on luck.
Even though Old Master Gu was firmly in charge of their family’s interests, it was precisely because the Gu family was so powerful that everyone wanted to seize this moment of transition to make their own move.
“You, my brilliant wife,” Gu Tingxiao murmured, pulling her closer, “are remarkably sensitive to the political climate.”
Sheng Wanyan felt a sudden prick of guilt. How could she possibly be sensitive? She simply possessed the cheat code of knowing the exact trajectory of future history. National policies were decided by the giants at the top; she was just an ordinary citizen who knew where the river was flowing. But she didn’t dare display too much foresight, terrified that being too unique would invite disaster.
“Anyone with eyes can see that the controls in the city have loosened up significantly lately,” she countered smoothly, fabricating a plausible excuse to deflect his curiosity.
Gu Tingxiao accepted the explanation and didn’t pry any further. If his wife wanted to keep her thoughts to herself, he would gladly drop the subject. What he wanted was beautifully simple—to keep his wife safe by his side. If a real storm ever hit, he would simply shield her from the wind. He would ensure his little fairy’s extraordinary nature remained hidden from the world, far away from any danger.
Sheng Wanyan had absolutely no idea that her husband routinely conceptualized her as an actual celestial being. Had she known, she likely would have laughed herself to death. Still, the misunderstanding worked entirely in her favor, making it remarkably easy to utilize her spatial domain without spinning an endless web of lies.
With Gu Tingxiao handling the structural logistics of the household, Sheng Wanyan’s daily schedule gained a new focus alongside her state translation assignments: reviewing high school textbooks.
The exact second Gu Tingxiao realized she was determined to chase a university degree, he systematically took over every single domestic chore. He cleared the cooking, the laundry, and the cleaning, leaving her entirely free to study in absolute tranquility. He had zero intention of clipping her wings. His wife was a magnificent creature who belonged on a grand stage, not confined to a frozen border town.
Furthermore, he recognized that he needed to work twice as hard himself. If the college entrance examinations truly returned and his wife cleared the brackets, she would head straight back to the elite universities in the capital. Was he supposed to just sit back and let himself be left behind in Bing City? He had finally secured a life filled with a beautiful wife and a darling daughter; he refused to let a massive geographical divide separate them.
“Tingxiao,” Sheng Wanyan noted one evening, looking up from her algebra text, “once the exams are officially announced, I want to purchase a small, independent courtyard estate in the Capital.”
“When I’m attending university, residing permanently at the Gu family ancestral home won’t be logistically practical. After all, that estate is ultimately under the management of Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law.”
Gu Tingxiao nodded, understanding her independent nature perfectly. His wife despised owing anyone a favor, and resting under another branch’s roof would never match the sheer comfort of owning her own property. It was perfectly fine to stay at the ancestral estate as a guest for a few weeks during the Lunar New Year, but establishing a permanent, long-term residence there would inevitably breed domestic friction over time.
“Buy whatever layout catches your eye,” he answered without a second thought. “The household treasury is entirely at your disposal; spend the capital however you see fit.”
He always strove to satisfy her parameters, harboring absolutely zero masculine insecurity regarding how she managed their finances. Moreover, he possessed a healthy dose of self-awareness—he knew his wife was infinitely more brilliant at generating capital than he was. While he maintained a healthy amount of traditional male pride, his devotion to his wife far eclipsed his ego. If his personal salary couldn’t match her financial power, he would simply push himself harder on the battlefield to climb the ranks and become a political shield for her! He wanted her to amass wealth and power seamlessly, without ever having to rely on the favor of outsiders.
As the days marched on, Mother and Father Sheng noticed that the young couple rarely left the warmth of their cottage after the holiday. But given the brutal, sub-zero conditions of a northern March, staying indoors felt perfectly natural, so the elders simply strolled across the lane whenever they wanted to dote on the baby.
Mother Sheng’s curiosity was piqued one afternoon when she caught Sheng Wanyan deep in her high school texts. She couldn’t comprehend why a married mother would waste energy on old secondary school curriculum. Under the current regime, the college entrance exams were completely dead!
“Why on earth are you burying your nose in high school textbooks, Wanyan?”
“I’m just flipping through them out of boredom, Mom,” Sheng Wanyan lied smoothly. “I want to keep my mind sharp so I don’t fall behind on my comprehension.”
She had no viable way of explaining to her mother that the national examinations would be officially reinstated next year. Had she dropped that historical reality into conversation, no ordinary citizen would believe her. More importantly, if such sensitive political foresight leaked into the local grapevine, it could easily bring an administrative disaster down upon the Gu family estate. Given the Pan family’s high military status, they would naturally receive advance notice from the ministry when the blueprints were finalized anyway, so there was no need for her to stir the pot early. She would simply focus on tending her own small patch of land.
Mother Sheng knew her daughter was exceptionally bright and assumed the texts were merely reference material to streamline her high school level translation contracts, so she let the matter drop. She cradled little Yi Yi for a long while before heading back across the lane to prepare the noon meal.
Sheng Wanyan checked the clock and saw it was nearly midday. Lacking the energy to light the kitchen stove, she simply retrieved a hot, gourmet spread from her spatial domain. When Gu Tingxiao returned from the barracks for his lunch break, the couple enjoyed a quiet meal before he helped settle Yi Yi down for her afternoon nap.
The calendar smoothly transitioned into mid-March, and the festive warmth of the Lunar New Year evaporated into the standard winter routine. Father and Mother Sheng were scheduled to board the transport train back to Chengdu at the end of the month, leaving them with just a little over two weeks to spend with the grandchildren.
Mother Sheng walked over the following afternoon to inform Sheng Wanyan that she was planning a trip to the municipal supply and marketing cooperative the next morning. The regiment logistics detail was routing an administrative vehicle into the city, and she wanted to know if her daughter wished to tag along.
Sheng Wanyan hadn’t cleared the base gates in months. Realizing that several of her household commodity coupons were on the absolute verge of expiring, she agreed that a trip to the city markets was exactly what she needed.
Early the next morning, directly following Yi Yi’s dawn feeding, Sheng Wanyan carefully pumped a full bottle of milk for the afternoon. She carried the baby across the lane to her brother’s cottage; with Father Sheng, Grandpa, and Grandma Sheng anchoring the nursery, looking after the two infants would be perfectly manageable.
Sheng Wanyan and Pan Yue walked down to the main security gates to meet Mother Sheng, arriving right as the morning detail assembled.
The waiting crowd was visibly surprised to see Sheng Wanyan joining the transit run. The Gu household owned a premium bicycle, making trips into the city exceptionally convenient for her without ever having to squeeze onto the military transport trucks with the masses. Furthermore, the entire compound was well aware of just how intensely Captain Gu treasured his wife. Whenever the cottage required provisions, the captain would happily ride out into the frost to secure them himself, sparing Sheng Wanyan from the physical strain.
The military wives discreetly assessed Sheng Wanyan, their eyes filled with silent envy. Her postpartum recovery was flawless; her silhouette remained as slender and elegant as it had been before her pregnancy. Her skin looked incredibly luminous, practically glowing with vitality, and motherhood had only enhanced her feminine curves.
With her currently nursing, her figure was undeniably striking. The onlookers mused silently that it was no wonder Captain Gu guarded her like a precious treasure. If any of them possessed a face and frame that magnificent, their own husbands would likely treat them like porcelain dolls too.
“Captain Gu’s wife is joining the city run today as well?” a neighbor called out warmly.
“Yes,” Sheng Wanyan smiled. “A few of my household tickets are nearing their expiration dates, so I need to stock up on basic daily necessities.”
The crowd chuckled, the atmosphere light. Xu Guihua, Captain Fang’s wife, immediately sidled over to her side, her eyes gleaming as she prepared to unload the latest, most scandalous gossip circulating through the concrete apartment blocks. Sheng Wanyan found her neighbor’s endless intelligence network highly entertaining and settled in to listen with an amused smile.
The core of the compound drama centered, entirely expectedly, around Zhang Zhaodi. Ever since the logistics department had systematically excluded her household from the new quilt allocation, Zhang Zhaodi’s domestic life had devolved into absolute misery. Her mother-in-law had always treated her with cold disdain, but now her contempt had intensified tenfold.
Worse still, Captain Wu had received a severe, formal reprimand from the political commissar for his household’s blatant lack of community solidarity during a crisis.
The professional blow had shattered the captain’s temper, triggering a series of explosive domestic screaming matches. According to the neighbors in the tube building, the sound of shattered porcelain and slammed furniture had reverberated down the corridors for days. Following the scandal, Zhang Zhaodi had lost all standing within her own walls, her voice completely stripped of authority.
Even her two treasured sons had turned cold toward her. Due to their mother’s public disgrace, the other children in the staff quarters relentlessly mocked the boys whenever they stepped outside. Every single trip to the compound playground ended in tears and teasing, with the other youth openly shunning them for belonging to a “selfish household.”
Battered by the social isolation, the two brothers had returned home weeping, bitterly accusing Zhang Zhaodi of destroying their reputations and sabotaging their standing among their peers.
Zhang Zhaodi felt utterly suffocated by the walls closing in on her. She was trapped in a hell of her own making—scorned by her mother-in-law, entirely alienated by her husband, and bitterly resented by her own flesh and blood.
Chapter 328: Xu Guihua News Leader
Unable to keep her frustrations bottled up any longer, Zhang Zhaodi had erupted, launching into a massive argument with Captain Wu right there in the staff quarters.
But no matter how fiercely a couple quarrels, daily life must go on. Besides, Captain Wu and Zhang Zhaodi had originally married for love; they were the type to fight like cats and dogs at the head of the bed, only to make up by the time they reached the foot of it. Give it another year, and the Wu household would likely settle back into its usual routine.
Still, anyone with eyes could see that Zhang Zhaodi was enduring a miserable time with her in-laws. After all, what man could possibly remain happy when his wife was constantly getting him singled out and reprimanded by his superiors? It wasn’t just a one-time slip-up either; it had become a regular occurrence. Even though they hadn’t technically violated any strict military regulations, the household’s standing in the eyes of the leadership had plummeted to an absolute all-time low.
Then there was Liang Qian. During the Spring Festival, she had retreated back to her parents’ estate. Chief of Staff Liang had ultimately felt it would look terrible for his daughter to have nowhere to go during the holidays, so he reluctantly opened his doors to her again. Naturally, she brought Captain Du and her mother-in-law along with her.
But by the time the visit concluded, Chief of Staff Liang was left absolutely vibrating with rage.
Word around the base was that the exact second Aunt Du saw Chief of Staff Liang relent and let Liang Qian through the door, she assumed the old man had fully forgiven her daughter-in-law. Behind closed doors, she began dropping thick, shameless hints, slickly suggesting that for the sake of their new family alliance, Chief of Staff Liang ought to pull a few strings for them.
The moment Chief of Staff Liang realized the old woman was aggressively trying to hustle him into securing comfortable metropolitan career placements for her two other sons, he exploded.
Why on earth should I leverage my lifelong military standing to find employment for your sons? Who do you think you are!
The Liang family had fiercely opposed Liang Qian marrying Captain Du from the very beginning. Now that she had stubbornly made her bed, fine—but she actually had the audacity to drag her husband’s parasitic family to his doorstep to beg for favors? How could the proud Liang lineage have spawned such a thoroughly brainless, short-sighted daughter!
Chief of Staff Liang spent the remainder of the Spring Festival so violently angry he nearly suffered a medical emergency. If his young grandson hadn’t been at his side to offer endless comfort, the old man would have likely spent the New Year tethered to a hospital bed. Following the holiday disaster, whenever Liang Qian attempted to visit the estate, Chief of Staff Liang would aggressively order his guards to chase her away. He had maintained absolute wisdom and impeccable honor throughout his entire military career, yet he was cursed with such an incredibly foolish daughter. He felt far too ashamed to even face his ancestors.
Xu Guihua recounted the political chess match with immense, breathless excitement, entirely failing to notice that Sheng Wanyan’s gaze was growing increasingly calculated as she watched her speak.
This woman is a literal diamond in the rough, Sheng Wanyan thought, her lips curving into a secret smile. With a talent for intelligence gathering like this, I absolutely cannot let her slip through my fingers.
Xu Guihua had no inkling that her flawless knack for extracting neighborhood secrets had just made her a prime target. Because of this single interaction, she would ultimately end up managing logistics and operations under Sheng Wanyan’s banner for the remainder of her professional life. Of course, that is a story for a much later chapter; there is no need to dwell on it now.
The moment the military transport truck crested the city lines, the three women marched straight toward the municipal supply and marketing cooperative. With the holiday festivities officially wrapped up, the immediate priority was replenishing the household spice racks, oils, and baseline food reserves.
As always, Sheng Wanyan’s core objective was systematically burning through the collection of commodity coupons piling up in her purse, and today was no exception. She simply purchased whatever inventory matched the tickets in her hand, entirely unbothered by the variety. These were essential household staples, after all; sooner or later, every single grain and spice would find its purpose in the kitchen.
By the time their shopping layout concluded, the three women were heavily laden with parcels of every shape and size, their large backpacks stuffed to absolute capacity before they finally boarded the return transport. Every military wife on the truck today had focused strictly on securing food reserves. The holiday season had aggressively drained the base’s inventory, and with the northern winter projected to drop heavy snow blankets for another two solid months, maintaining a thoroughly packed cellar was a matter of survival.
It was already half-past four in the afternoon when Sheng Wanyan finally crossed her own threshold. Calculating the hours, she knew little Yi Yi would be waking from her afternoon nap right about now.
Sure enough, the moment she stepped into the nursery nook, she found her daughter sitting on the mattress, her tiny jaws aggressively grinding against her smooth wooden teething stick. Yi Yi was hitting her six-month growth milestone, and the relentless, deep itching along her gums was intensifying by the day.
The physical discomfort occasionally caused the infant to erupt into sudden, reedy wails of pure frustration and exhaustion. Whenever the baby suffered, Gu Tingxiao’s stress levels would skyrocket. His heart bled to watch his daughter wrestle with the pain while his formidable military strength could do absolutely nothing to alleviate it. He could only hover over the crib, entirely consumed by helpless sorrow.
Witnessing his dramatic reaction to the teething phase gave Sheng Wanyan yet another front-row seat to the staggering, near-absurd depth of paternal devotion Gu Tingxiao harbored for his daughter. His doting went infinitely further than she had ever calculated. If Yi Yi manifested even a microscopic drop of physical discomfort, Gu Tingxiao would instantly absorb double the emotional agony, acting as if the world were ending.
The intense dynamic occasionally left Sheng Wanyan feeling like a total outsider in her own living room, as if she were merely the delivery courier who had dropped the child off and vanished. Every time she observed them, she didn’t know whether to laugh at the sheer beauty of his devotion, or fake-cry because her husband completely ignored her existence the exact second the baby entered the room. Still, she harbored zero genuine jealousy; she was far too practical a woman to envy her own flesh and blood. Besides, the moment Yi Yi arrived, Sheng Wanyan had largely shifted her own focus away from Gu Tingxiao anyway. This was standard operating procedure once a household expanded. It was infinitely better for her husband to pour his excess emotional energy onto their child than to have his eyes wander elsewhere.
Sheng Wanyan efficiently organized her purchases in the pantry, then sprinted back across the lane to bundle the baby up securely in her thick insulated blankets and carry her back home.
Today, Father Sheng had thoroughly enjoyed his turn at the nursery wheel. For a rare change, Mother Sheng hadn’t aggressively snatched the infant from his arms, allowing him to cradle his long-awaited granddaughter to his heart’s content. While Father Sheng had risen through the ranks of a heavy machinery plant and was well-acquainted with intense manual labor, his elevation to deputy director had wrapped him in an exceptionally refined, intellectual air. He didn’t carry himself like a rough workshop veteran; instead, he exuded a remarkably elegant, scholarly poise.
He was an imposing, tall man whose years spent navigating the factory floor had given him an exterior of formidable physical strength, but in his youth, he had been the sole university student to emerge from his home village. That innate, academic blueprint never truly faded. Furthermore, even after establishing himself in the city, he had continuously pushed his education, refusing to let his mind settle simply because he had secured a comfortable administrative title. Now that he was entirely clear of heavy labor, the distinct, dignified aura of a scholar had only grown more pronounced.
Little Yi Yi was remarkably fond of her grandpa. The exact second she was nestled against his chest, she became even more perfectly well-behaved and serene than she ever was in Gu Tingxiao’s powerful arms.
The instant Gu Tingxiao clocked off from his shift and crossed the threshold, his default sequence kicked in: he searched for his wife first. Finding Sheng Wanyan completely occupied with prepping the dinner stoves, he quickly scrubbed his hands at the basin and sprinted off to locate his precious daughter.
Yi Yi had successfully mastered rolling over and could now sit entirely unassisted to manipulate her toys. Gu Tingxiao stepped into the warm bedroom and caught sight of her sitting upright in her crib, her chubby fingers clutching her stuffed rabbit doll as her wide, watery eyes locked onto his silhouette. His stern face melted instantly. He strode across the floorboards and swept her cleanly into his arms.
“Ahhh~!”
Yi Yi let out a delighted squeal at his arrival, burying her face against his shoulder while her tiny fingers tightly clamped onto the stiff wool of his military jacket. It was a mirror image of Sheng Wanyan’s habit; whenever she was wrapped in his embrace, her hands would instinctively bunch the fabric of his chest.
“Dad’s home, my darling,” he murmured, his voice low and incredibly tender. “Have you been an absolute angel for your grandparents today, Yi Yi?” He carefully reached down to smooth the cuffs of her trousers, ensuring her ankles weren’t exposed to a draft.
“Ah~!” she babbled back, offering him a brilliant, toothless smile to verify her flawless conduct.
Gu Tingxiao’s heart turned to mush, and he leaned down to press a deep, loving kiss against her soft cheek. But the exact second his face made contact, his rough morning stubble violently pricked her delicate skin. Yi Yi’s smile vanished instantly, her lower lip puckering into a deep, aggrieved pout.
Gu Tingxiao froze, his hand flying to his jaw in sudden, awkward panic. He had been in such an absolute rush to make morning formation that he had entirely forgotten to run his razor over his chin. He had just inadvertently scratched his baby girl’s face, and his tactical mind had absolutely zero blueprint for how to handle the casualty.
Predictably, when the infant realized her father was simply staring at her in mute panic instead of offering immediate, groveling comforts, her sense of grievance overflowed, and she erupted into a frantic wail.
Sheng Wanyan was just about to call the household to the dining table when her daughter’s sharp cries shattered the quiet. She hurried into the bedroom, seamlessly transferring the weeping infant into her own arms as she leveled a sharp look at her husband. “What on earth did you do to her? Why is she suddenly crying like this?”
Gu Tingxiao cleared his throat, thoroughly sheepish as he confessed his administrative failure. Sheng Wanyan gave him a long, exasperated glare. He had pricked the poor thing’s face and then just stood there like a useless piece of timber without offering a single word of comfort?
“Alright, alright, my darling, Mom is right here,” Sheng Wanyan cooed, gently blowing a cool stream of air against the faint red mark on the baby’s cheek. “Mom will blow the hurt away, see? It’s already gone. Tingxiao, move your boots and fetch Yi Yi’s specialized infant cream from the dresser.”
Noting the faint friction mark on the baby’s skin, she wanted to protect it immediately. Gu Tingxiao scrambled to execute the command, returning in seconds with the jar, and Sheng Wanyan meticulously massaged the smooth lotion into her daughter’s cheeks until the tears vanished completely.
Chapter 329: Father and Mother Sheng Leave Bing City
With her skin freshly moisturized, Yi Yi felt a little more comfortable and slowly stopped crying.
Even though the little thing knew it was her father who had caused the stinging discomfort, she didn’t harbor a grudge or freeze him out. Instead, the moment she fully recovered her composure, she kicked her legs and reached her chubby arms right back toward Gu Tingxiao, demanding a hug.
Gu Tingxiao naturally would never refuse his daughter. He had been drowning in guilt over scratching her and was frantically rack-braining how to coax her back into his good graces. Seeing his darling girl loop right back to him before he had even deployed a single peace offering filled his heart with profound warmth.
To make absolute amends, Gu Tingxiao returned from the barracks the following afternoon laden with a fresh batch of handmade wooden toys he had carved during his breaks.
Yi Yi was far from a picky child when it came to her playroom inventory; she displayed equal enthusiasm for traditional boys’ and girls’ toys alike. She even developed a particular fondness for a miniature model cannon her grandfather had constructed out of spent bullet casings back in the capital.
Sheng Wanyan occasionally looked at her daughter’s eclectic preferences with a skeptical brow. This little girl’s interests were remarkably broad, to say the least.
For the remainder of the deep winter, Sheng Wanyan anchored herself firmly inside the warm cottage, completely bypassing any non-essential outdoor excursions.
As the heavy northern snow continued to blanket the base, the calendar steadily marched toward the inevitable date when Father and Mother Sheng had to return to Chengdu. The elders were gripped by a profound reluctance to part from their children and grandchildren, but no matter how deeply they yearned to linger, the reality of their careers dictated their departure.
Over the course of their two-month stay, little Huzi had grown thoroughly accustomed to having his maternal grandparents around, developing a deep, fierce sense of dependence on them. Throughout their holiday, Father and Mother Sheng had doted on the toddler to an absolute fault; whatever the boy pointed his chubby finger at, they would instantly secure for him, flatly refusing to ever deny him a single whim.
When they noticed Huzi had drained the very last of his premium malted milk powder, the doting grandparents didn’t hesitate to mount their bicycles on a bitterly cold, snowy afternoon, riding all the way into the city center simply to secure a fresh inventory of tins for him.
Shedding that level of unadulterated devotion onto the toddler meant Huzi loved his grandparents with every fiber of his little being. Because of his innocence, the reality of their departure hadn’t truly registered in his mind.
It wasn’t until Huzi watched Father and Mother Sheng load their heavy suitcases into the transport vehicle and step up into the cabin that the structural shift hit him, and he instantly burst into a frantic, earth-shattering wail.
Hearing his reedy screams, Mother Sheng felt her heart physically break. She had only just forged a deep, fluid bond with her grandson, and now they were being ruthlessly separated by thousands of miles once again.
“Be an absolute angel, our little Huzi,” Mother Sheng cooed through the open window, her own eyes welling with tears. “Grandpa and Grandma give you their solemn word—we will journey back to see you the literal second our next vacation block clears.”
But Huzi was entirely deaf to her logical assurances; his toddler brain only processed the devastating reality that his ultimate shields were abandoning him. Whenever his grandparents were stationed at the cottage, his stinky father didn’t dare raise his voice, deploy a disciplinary swat, or bully him in the slightest, because Grandpa would instantly unleash a fierce verbal reprimand on his son to protect the boy. The exact second those protective columns cleared the base, his stinky father would undoubtedly resume his reign of domestic terror.
Huzi felt his life was exceptionally tragic. Why on earth was he cursed with such a thoroughly frustrating father? The man was infinitely more childish than an actual toddler, continuously engaging in petty, competitive warfare with him to monopolize Mother’s attention.
Sheng Wanze stood by the truck, his expression a mix of helplessness and dark amusement as he watched his son’s performance. …” He knew with absolute clarity that in the grand hierarchy of the household, a son would never hold a candle to a daughter when it came to emotional sweetness.
No matter how desperately Huzi wept, the transport driver couldn’t delay the engine any longer; if they didn’t clear the mountain pass immediately, the elders would completely miss their long-distance train.
The vehicle slowly pulled away against the backdrop of Huzi’s relentless tears. The toddler simply could not contain his sorrow, his wails echoing down the lane.
Naturally, before boarding the truck, Father and Mother Sheng had slipped into the Gu cottage to share a tender farewell with little Yi Yi, pulling Sheng Wanyan aside to verify her health was completely pristine before finally clearing the sector.
The exact second the transport vehicle vanished past the guard gates, a profound, heavy silence settled over the family quarters. The physical absence of the vibrant elders left the properties looking distinctly deserted.
It wasn’t just little Huzi who struggled to adjust; even Grandpa and Grandma Sheng found themselves thoroughly disoriented by their son and daughter-in-law’s sudden departure. The daily volume of the household had plummeted instantly, and the sudden absence of familial nagging left an awkward void.
“My goodness… the moment those two pack their bags and clear the threshold, the entire property turns completely quiet,” Grandma Sheng lamented, adjusting the tea towels. When her son and daughter-in-law were occupying the rooms, someone was perpetually buzzing in her ear, issuing strict directives on what chores she shouldn’t perform and what heavy dishes she shouldn’t consume.
Now that no one was tracking her movements or managing her routine, she felt a strange emptiness in her chest, her entire frame feeling distinctly unsettled.
Grandpa Sheng let out a slow, heavy sigh, shaking his head. “Isn’t that the absolute truth? It feels as if the vibrant magic of the holiday evaporated in a single heartbeat, forcing us right back into standard, quiet routine.”
While the grandparents wrestled with their own internal melancholy, catching sight of Huzi sobbing so sorrowfully broke their focus, and they quickly swarmed the toddler to offer comfort and distract his mind.
A little over ten days following her parents’ departure, a magnificent piece of official intelligence reached Sheng Wanyan’s desk.
The state manufacturing plants had officially initiated the automated mass production of her cold granules, with a projected commercial release date slated for less than a month down the line.
In accordance with the strict clauses she had negotiated during the briefing, the initial production runs would be distributed exclusively to domestic clinics and citizens to insulate the populace. Only after the internal demand was thoroughly satisfied would the ministry authorize factory lines to begin exporting the packets to harvest foreign exchange currency.
This specific sequence had been Sheng Wanyan’s absolute, unyielding mandate to the committee. She was determined to prevent short-sighted bureaucrats at the upper levels from immediately funneling the entirety of the medical miracle into international trade routes simply to artificially pad their department budgets for personal glory.
How could a citizen justify withholding a life-saving medical breakthrough from their own countrymen simply to chase foreign capital? While accumulating foreign exchange was undeniably critical to the state’s industrial goals, Sheng Wanyan firmly believed the physical survival and health of her compatriots far outweighed any currency ledger.
The central ministry had naturally capitulated to her ethical layout; at the end of the day, her strategic focus directly preserved the health of the nation’s labor force.
Sheng Wanyan was now simply waiting for the factories to spin their gears and initiate commercial distribution. Calculating the compounding equity percentages, she knew that by the arrival of the next calendar year, her private dividend yields would reach an astronomical, life-altering sum.
As if the medical breakthrough logs weren’t dazzling enough, the exact same mail run delivered a fresh, substantial batch of state translation manuscripts alongside a massive stack of royalty money orders.
As the traditional proverb goes: fortune knocks in continuous waves. Overjoyed by her compounding victories, Sheng Wanyan swept little Yi Yi up into her arms, pressing a series of deep, ecstatic kisses against her soft cheeks.
Yi Yi had absolutely no concept of macroeconomics, but catching the radiant, unadulterated joy flashing across her mother’s beautiful features caused her to erupt into a bubbling, happy laugh.
Sheng Wanyan doted on her for an hour, eagerly sharing her structural triumphs with the infant. “Is our little Yi Yi thrilled? From this afternoon forward, my darling, you are officially designated as a spectacularly wealthy second-generation heiress.”
She held her precious daughter close. Yi Yi obviously couldn’t decipher the financial metrics of a “wealthy second-generation” status, but she completely adored the possessive warmth of her mother’s embrace. As long as her mother was happy, her universe was perfect.
When Gu Tingxiao finally clocked off from his tactical shift and crossed the threshold, he instantly detected the exceptionally buoyant, triumphant aura radiating from his wife.
“What’s got my beautiful wife looking so exceptionally proud tonight?” he asked, a smile breaking across his face.
Sheng Wanyan lifted her chin with a haughty, delightfully arrogant tilt, her eyes sparkling with pure satisfaction. “It’s a classified operation. I have zero intention of revealing the details to you.”
Why on earth should she voluntarily leak her commercial money-making blueprints to a corporate outsider?
Gu Tingxiao didn’t manifest a single shred of annoyance at her secrecy; as long as his wife was happy, he was perfectly content to let her play her cards close to her chest.
Sheng Wanyan continued to playfully tease him throughout the evening, though her exuberant mood eventually got the better of her during dinner, and she couldn’t resist sharing the official production timeline with him.
Hearing the news, the tension in Gu Tingxiao’s brow uncoiled completely. He felt a profound wave of joy for her achievements, his soul filled with immense, unvarnished admiration for his wife’s capabilities. It seemed as though whatever mountain this woman chose to target, she conquered it with absolute, effortless precision.
“You are truly magnificent, sweetheart,” he murmured, reaching across the space to gently ruffle her hair.
Sheng Wanyan playfully batted his hand away, leveling a Mock-stern look at him. “You’d better commit that reality to memory, Captain. If you ever dare to provoke my temper or let me down in the future, I will simply pack up my massive treasury, scoop up my daughter, and dump your sorry self without a single backward glance.”
Sheng Wanyan’s dramatic, high-handed threats were undeniably cheesy, but Gu Tingxiao found her fierce independence completely irresistible. He had never encountered a woman who could articulate the concept of domestic abandonment with such radiant, spoiled confidence. He didn’t know whether to laugh at her sheer innocence, or feel a spike of competitive adrenaline because she possessed the absolute power to walk away from him whenever she pleased. No matter the logistics, as long as she was happy, he would play the game.
“You truly think you can dump me that easily, wife?” he asked, his dark eyes locking onto hers as his voice dropped into a low, predatory purr. “Perhaps you can attempt that strategy in our next lifetime. Tonight, however, you belong to me.”
He intended to spend the night ensuring his demanding wife was far too physically exhausted to ever articulate the word abandonment again.
Sheng Wanyan caught the dangerous, burning intensity flashing in his gaze and instantly diagnosed his tactical intent. Operating on pure self-preservation, the exact second Gu Tingxiao stepped into the washroom to fire up the bath kettles, she aggressively scrambled under the heavy winter quilts, tightly shutting her eyes to fake a deep sleep.
When Gu Tingxiao emerged from the steam, a low, knowing chuckle tore from his throat at the sight of her rigid, hyper-focused “sleeping” posture. He didn’t care about her defensive strategy in the slightest; his own desire was running entirely too hot to let her slide.
Ultimately, Sheng Wanyan’s tactical retreat failed to achieve its objective. In the quiet hours of the midnight watch, she felt herself thoroughly pinned beneath what felt like a mountain of pure muscle and heat. Her breathing fractured completely, and for the remainder of the night, she felt as though she were drowning in a sea of intense sensation, forced to tightly wrap her arms around his broad shoulders simply to anchor herself against the storm.
When the morning light finally broke through the frost-rimmed windows, Sheng Wanyan woke to a deep, radiating ache across her back and waist that rendered her entirely incapable of shifting her limbs off the mattress.
Gu Tingxiao efficiently sprinted down to the mess hall to secure their breakfast rations, returning in record time to settle onto the edge of the mattress, his large, warm palms beginning to methodically massage the soreness from her lower back.
“This is entirely your fault, you brute!” Sheng Wanyan hissed, throwing a sharp, furious glare over her shoulder.
Recognizing his own lack of moderation, Gu Tingxiao accepted the reprimand with a thoroughly sheepish expression, not daring to summon a single word of defense. He simply poured all his energy into offering soft, groveling comforts and steady pressure to soothe her aching muscles until her temper finally cooled.
Sheng Wanyan could only let out a defeated sigh. She couldn’t exactly harvest his organs to settle the score. Frustrated by his impervious frame, she reached out and aggressively tried to pinch the skin at his waist, but his conditioning was so advanced she couldn’t even manage to capture a single millimeter of loose flesh between her fingers.
