Chapter 97: Comrade Lin You, Your Ideology Is Troubled

Li Yong picked up his glass and downed two more drinks. During this time, Ruan Xiaotian went home and brought back two more bottles, and the two men drank together at Xia Yan’s house.

In the kitchen, Xia Yan was busy frying dishes. Zhu Yan, peering through the glass on the kitchen door, watched the two men drinking. She turned back to Xia Yan with an apologetic look and said, “Sorry for causing you trouble again.”

“What trouble? We’re good friends now, aren’t we? It’s just that thanks to Li Yong making a scene, we’re out of wine. What a pity, Lin You’s bottle was a rare treat, and that guy finished it in a few gulps.”

Zhu Yan was amused by her expression. “Don’t worry, next time I go home, I’ll bring a few bottles from my dad’s collection. Then we’ll drink together again.”

“You said it! Wine from a commander’s house must be better than ours,” Xia Yan replied, eyes shining.

“Xia Yan, you know, I really envy you. Lin You is such a good man. I tried for so long and didn’t win him over, yet you’ve only been here half a month and succeeded.”

Zhu Yan walked to Xia Yan’s side, picked a slice of meat from the wok, and tasted it. “A bit bland—add some salt.”

Xia Yan slapped her hand away in mock annoyance. “Stealing food, are you?”

“Sometimes it’s all about fate, you know. Maybe before long, you’ll meet someone just right for you, too.” As she spoke, Xia Yan added more salt, tasted it herself, and raised an eyebrow—this woman certainly had a heavy palate.

Zhu Yan didn’t respond, lost in her own thoughts.

When Li Yong left, he was half-carried by Ruan Xiaotian, obviously drunk. As they walked out, he kept muttering about settling scores with Zhang Jun, then burst into tears again.

As soon as the two men left, Lin Hongzhe came out of his room, followed by Lin Hongzhuo and Nuannuan.

“Xia Yan, are they gone?” Lin Hongzhe glanced at the messy dining table.

“They’re gone. Why are you three still up? Do you know what time it is? You have school tomorrow.” Xia Yan checked her watch. Goodness, it was almost ten o’clock.

“Mom, how could we sleep with that man shouting so loud?” Lin Hongzhuo yawned and grumbled, “Mom, I heard them say something about Teacher Yuan, that the child isn’t his. What did they mean?”

“Children shouldn’t worry about such things. Hongzhe, take your brother to bed.” Xia Yan tapped the boy’s forehead and added sternly, “And don’t go repeating what you heard tonight, understand?”

Seeing Xia Yan’s serious face, Lin Hongzhuo nodded and followed his brother back to their room.

Zhu Yan was just about to leave when Xia Yan grabbed her arm.

“Hey, trying to sneak out? Go soothe Nuannuan to sleep—I still have to clean the kitchen.”

“Is it right to make a guest put a child to bed?”

“What guest? You’re their godmother. Besides, Li Yong only came to cause trouble because of you!”

“All right, all right, I’ll do it.” Zhu Yan scooped up Lin Nuannuan and said gently, “Come on, Nuannuan, godmother will tell you a story.”

Once everyone was back in their rooms, Xia Yan looked at the dishes on the table with a troubled face and sighed heavily. What a mess this was.

By the time everything was tidied up, it was close to eleven-thirty. Zhu Yan emerged after settling the child and said goodbye. Xia Yan wanted her to stay the night, but Zhu Yan refused no matter what, so she had to let her go.

Lying in bed at last, Xia Yan finally had a moment’s peace to think about the future. Of course, all she could picture in her mind was Lin You’s face.

The next morning, dawn had only just begun to lighten the sky. The reveille woke Xia Yan. With her hair in disarray and eyelids drooping, she wanted nothing more than to stay in bed, but remembering the two children next door who needed to get to school, she forced herself up.

Being a mother was no easy task.

She rolled out noodles for the children and poached an egg for each of them.

Faced with steaming noodles, the three kids showed their appreciation with action. Lin Hongzhuo ate two big bowls.

Seeing the empty pot, Xia Yan felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

She straightened their clothes once more and kissed each of them on the forehead before sending them off. Lin Hongzhuo was delighted, but Lin Hongzhe seemed a little flustered.

Once the children went to school, the house suddenly felt much emptier, though Nuannuan was still there.

Having been away for two days, Xia Yan decided to give the house a thorough cleaning and wash the children’s laundry.

After a busy morning, Xia Yan ached all over. Housework, she thought, was far more exhausting than a regular job. Lunch was simple: she and Lin Nuannuan made a single dish and a soup.

In the afternoon, after Lin Nuannuan’s nap, Xia Yan carried a chair out to the doorway and sat in peaceful quiet.

This leisurely life was truly a joy.

At some point, Huohua had crawled over and lay at Xia Yan’s feet, resting its head on her foot. Seeing how filthy the dog looked, Xia Yan’s hands began to itch for action.

“Let’s give you a bath while the sun’s out, shall we?”

Huohua barked twice as if understanding, as though saying, “You finally remembered I need a bath.”

Xia Yan boiled a pot of water, found a big basin, tested the temperature, and plopped the dog in. Without any dog shampoo, she broke off a piece of soap and scrubbed Huohua clean.

Huohua lounged in the basin, belly up and eyes closed in bliss.

“Hey, you really know how to enjoy yourself,” Xia Yan laughed at the dog’s ‘regular customer at the foot spa’ demeanor.

After washing, Xia Yan dried Huohua with an old towel. “No running off to play in the pigsty after your bath, you hear me?” she admonished.

Then she carried the basin out to dump the water.

When she returned, she found Huohua lying on her chair, basking in the sun and staring at the chicks not far away. Xia Yan couldn’t help but wonder what the dog was thinking.

“I’ve never seen anyone raise a dog the way you do.”

That familiar voice snapped Xia Yan out of her reverie. At the door stood Lin You, carrying a large bag.

Seeing him, Xia Yan ran over and threw herself into his arms. “You’re finally home!”

Enveloped in his gentle embrace, a faint fragrance wafted up to her nose. Lin You dropped his bag and hugged her tight.

“Ahem, ahem... Would you two consider my feelings at all?”

Wang Baoguo’s plaintive voice sounded from behind Lin You. Xia Yan jumped in surprise, blushing as she disentangled herself. “Why didn’t you tell me Baoguo was coming, too?”

Lin You shot Wang Baoguo a glare. “If you keep quiet, no one will think you’re mute.”

“Comrade Lin You! I must say, your thinking has really gone astray lately!”