A Couple's Rebirth to 1977 Before Marriage

Chapter 187: Chapter 184: Idle Talk

Li Xiu smiled sheepishly. "I was just a little worried, that’s all. But Bao’er, you’re amazing. The exam will be no problem for you!" He was just worried his wife would be tired, having just finished her postpartum confinement. But who knew she was so sharp she’d see right through him?

Zhou Lian glanced at him, a faint, knowing smile playing on her lips. ’We’ve been husband and wife for two lifetimes. Of course I know what you’re thinking.’ Her one-month postpartum confinement had stretched to forty-five days. Anything the doctor said was good for her recovery, Li Xiu would move heaven and earth to procure for her. With the addition of a centuries-old ginseng root, she now felt as strong as an ox. Even the obstetrician had said that in over twenty years of practice, she’d never seen a new mother recover so well!

Watching the couple trade playful barbs, Ping’an and Sister Fang just lowered their heads and stuffed their faces. ’It’s really too much,’ Ping’an thought. ’Having to watch them be so lovey-dovey every single day... It’s not easy on the rest of us!’ He felt his resistance to such public displays of affection growing exponentially. He figured he wasn’t far from achieving his goal: "to remain perfectly calm even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him, and to not even blink if a deer were to spring up at his side."

After the meal, Zhou Lian looked at her chubby son on the kang bed and said worriedly to Li Xiu, "Yanyan is still so little. He needs to nurse about every two hours. What’s he going to do when I go to school?"

Li Xiu followed her gaze to their son and said nonchalantly, "Don’t worry. You can pump your milk ahead of time. Feed him once before you leave for school, use the pumped milk for one feeding while you’re gone, and then you can come home for lunch to feed him again. We’ll do the same in the afternoon. The timing works out perfectly. Our son won’t miss a feeding!"

Zhou Lian thought about it and figured that was the only solution. She looked at her soundly sleeping son and smiled. ’Both of my children have been so well-behaved and sensible since they were little. I wonder who they take after? I certainly wasn’t this easy to care for when I was a kid.’

On the morning of the 25th of the lunar calendar, Zhang Hongying came over. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Zhou Lian, and she just stared. Her intense gaze made Zhou Lian’s skin crawl, and she couldn’t help but ask, "Yingzi, what are you staring at?"

Zhang Hongying sighed. "Just look at you. Who would believe you’re a mother of two? That figure, that face... People would think I was exaggerating if I said you were eighteen!"

And it was true. Zhou Lian naturally had a slender build. Throughout her confinement, Li Xiu had plied her with an endless variety of nutritious foods. She had weighed herself after her bath yesterday and was only 103 pounds. At five feet five inches tall, she was definitely on the slim side. Li Xiu had gone to great lengths to try and fatten her up, but it was no use; she just didn’t gain weight. Though she was slim, her complexion was radiant—fair, supple skin with a healthy, rosy glow. Because her life was so happy and fulfilling, time seemed to have left no trace on her. At twenty-five, she still looked like a girl in her teens. It was no wonder Zhang Hongying was so envious.

Zhou Lian shot Zhang Hongying a wry look and said good-naturedly, "’A mother of two,’ she says. It’s not like an unmarried young lady like you has anything to worry about. Go ahead and gloat for the next few years. Once you’re married with kids, we’ll see if you still have the time and energy to poke fun at me." ’How good can anyone really look right after giving birth? This girl is talking more and more nonsense.’

It was a good thing Zhang Hongying couldn’t read Zhou Lian’s mind, or she would have cried foul. Zhou Lian was a natural beauty, with rosy lips, pearly teeth, an oval face, willow-leaf brows, and peach-blossom eyes. Her eyes weren’t the traditionally alluring, upturned kind, but were clear, expressive, and seemed to smile on their own. Paired with her elegant and serene temperament, she had an approachable, pleasing beauty, not an aggressive or intimidating sort. If Li Xiu didn’t drop her off and pick her up from school every day, her university life would likely have been far less peaceful.

Done with the banter, Zhang Hongying’s expression turned serious. "So, how are you feeling about it? I asked around, and you really do have to take an exam as soon as the semester starts. If you don’t pass, you’ll be moved down to the freshman year, no exceptions. It seems like someone’s pulling strings behind the scenes to make this happen. I don’t know what kind of jerk would do something so spiteful that doesn’t even benefit them!"

Zhou Lian just smiled at her words. "It’s fine. It’s only fair to the other students. There’s no need to get angry over it." ’With Ping’an—who’s been thoroughly influenced by Li Xiu—in the house, I knew about the school’s decision as soon as it was made. Ping’an even wanted to pull some strings to quash it, but Li Xiu and I stopped him. The school isn’t in the wrong here, and I don’t need to make a scene and demand special treatment over something so minor.’

Considering Zhou Lian’s character, Zhang Hongying didn’t press the issue. Since Zhou Lian herself wasn’t bothered, she let it go and turned to play with the chubby little boy on the kang bed. At just over forty days old, Yanyan looked exactly like Nuonuo had as a baby—fair-skinned, tender, and plump. The sight was enough to melt anyone’s heart, and Zhang Hongying was completely captivated.

"By the way, Yingzi, how are things between you and Wang Song?" Zhou Lian asked caringly. After the incident, all she knew was that the Wang family had thrown Wang Song’s mother out of the house. Unable to face his mother, Wang Song had simply given her a sum of money to effectively sever their bond. She hadn’t felt it was appropriate to ask about his and Zhang Hongying’s relationship at the time. Then, between giving birth and her postpartum confinement, Li Xiu had shielded her from any outside worries.

"Things are... moving along," Zhang Hongying said softly, a hint of shyness and hope on her face. "The Wang family promised that as soon as Wang Song and I marry, we can live on our own, and they won’t interfere with our lives at all. Wang Song also personally promised that after we’re married, he’ll respect all of my choices—including whether or not I want to live on the military base with him. My parents felt the Wang family was being very sincere, and now that Wang Song’s mother is out of the picture for good, they agreed to let the engagement stand. But the wedding date is completely up to me."

"That’s good," Zhou Lian said, not wanting to say more. "Your future is in your own hands now. You’ll have to be the one to build your life, day by day." ’She had already done and said everything she could; there was no point in repeating herself. Now that Wang Song’s mother was out of the picture, the fate that had befallen Zhang Hongying in her past life had been rewritten. She wouldn’t interfere anymore. Zhang Hongying’s life was her own to live.’

As noon approached, Zhang Hongying insisted on leaving despite Zhou Lian’s protests. They agreed to go to school together the next day, and with a nod from Zhou Lian, she departed quickly. ’There were certain situations one had to avoid to prevent gossip. Everyone in the Capital City’s upper circles knew that the Ping family’s young master, Ping’an, was practically living at the Li residence and had even playfully taken their newborn son as his "nephew." As an engaged but unmarried woman, she had to be careful, or nasty rumors could fly. Besides, given her friendship with Zhou Lian, there was no need for her to wade into these complicated waters. It would be terrible if she ended up implicating Zhou Lian in some scandal.’

Zhou Lian might not have had Li Xiu’s Seven-orifice Exquisite Heart, but she wasn’t a fool. When she saw Ping’an emerge from the west room, she instantly understood the real reason for her friend’s hasty departure. She shook her head with a helpless sigh. ’The phrase "gossip is a fearful thing" isn’t just words on a page. Life in this world is so hard. You have to be mindful of everything, from every angle. One tiny oversight could ruin a person’s life. It really is as they say: "Once you’re caught in the web of the mortal world, you lose control over what is right and wrong."’

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