Chapter 42: First Update

The wedding candies have all been handed out. In the evening, after work, Qin Yao got onto a transport vehicle making rounds to the family housing compound. There were a few other family members on the bus, and alongside were several ambulances, forming a small convoy leaving the military hospital.

Each medical ambulance had a military doctor on board, regularly traveling between the military hospital and various bases to transport wounded and sick patients.

Qin Yao had taken the vehicle a few times and was familiar with the route. But this time, she felt dizzy and weak all over, as if she was drifting on a cloud, setting off on an uncertain journey.

As the bus entered the family housing compound, Chen Baozhen was waiting for her at the gate. Qin Yao’s heart lightened and she was about to share a reunion hug with her best friend when, out of nowhere, a large hand, like an iron clamp, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside.

Gu Cheng stood between them, like the vast Milky Way that separates the Cowherd from the Weaver Girl.

"Yaoyao!" Chen Baozhen said, frustrated, stomping her foot in exasperation.

Qin Yao tried to reach for her hand. "Baozhen!"

Gu Cheng firmly held his little mushroom's tendril, not allowing any other mushroom to take advantage. He said coldly, "Teacher Chen, I'm taking my wife home. My house isn't tidy today, so we're not entertaining guests."

Chen Baozhen widened her eyes. "Yaoyao, Lao Gao is on duty tonight and isn't home. I wanted to sleep with you."

Qin Yao: "I want to as well!"

Gu Cheng sneered and said expressionlessly, "I don't."

A few of the women nearby laughed heartily, with some teasing, "When both Lao Gao and Captain Gu are not home, you two best friends can sleep together."

"Even if the men are at sea for long periods, there's no shortage of people to warm the bed."

...

Chen Baozhen, hearing this, smiled happily and adopted a roundabout strategy. "Yaoyao, in the future, when your Gu Captain is not around, I'll sleep at your place, or you can come to mine."

Qin Yao nodded. "Sure, we can even have meals together."

Gu Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and dragged Qin Yao towards their new home, like he was carrying a little chick, with Chen Baozhen following behind, a scene reminiscent of the "Eighteen Miles of Farewell."

"Yaoyao, we'll be able to see each other often now..." Chen Baozhen dreamed aloud about their future happy life.

Qin Yao responded cooperatively, "How are your scallions and garlic coming along?"

Chen Baozhen shamelessly replied, "If I run out at home, I'll come over and grab some."

Gu Cheng's face turned as black as a pot. "I will not allow any outsider to touch even a single thing in my house."

Qin Yao couldn't stop laughing at Gu Cheng's reaction.

She thought to herself that they had just moved into a new house, which was still a "wasteland," so there were no scallions or garlic for anyone to pinch.

Until Gu Cheng led her to a lush green yard, where several small vegetables were planted. The tomatoes and eggplants had already borne fruit, and there were a few flower pots under the eaves, giving the yard a vibrant and lively appearance.

"Captain Gu, you're back?" The wife of Political Commissar Zhou, Zaohua, stood in the yard next door. Zaohua was small and thin, her face smiling kindly. She was a traditionally hardworking woman who excelled at managing household affairs, a diligent wife that Political Commissar Zhou's mother had arranged for him.

"Thank you, Sister Zaohua," Gu Cheng nodded and introduced everyone.

The previous occupants had just moved out, and the vegetables in the yard had been well-maintained by Sister Zaohua, growing vigorously.

When Zaohua saw Qin Yao, she praised her several times. But when her gaze shifted to Chen Baozhen, her smile faded slightly, revealing a hint of wariness.

Chen Baozhen was the music teacher of her daughter, Jiajia. Ever since Chen Baozhen married into the family apartment, Jiajia often mentioned Teacher Chen, performed the harmonica at meals, and said that Teacher Chen had praised her for her musical talent...

At first, Zaohua didn't pay much attention to it, but as music and instruments were mentioned more frequently, she started feeling uneasy. In her opinion, a girl should be quick and diligent, good at housework, so she could marry well in the future.

Chen Baozhen's reputation in the family apartment compound was quite bad. Zaohua forbade her daughter from mentioning Teacher Chen at home, afraid she'd be led astray.

When Gu captain moved in next door with his wife, Zaohua was initially very pleased. However, when she saw that Qin Yao had a 'stepchild' with her, her heart sank.

Is this dangerous Chen Baozhen going to be hanging around next door often?

In the end, Chen Baozhen didn't stay long. Qin Yao and Gu Cheng began organizing their new home. Gu Cheng had a bunch of wooden furniture made, and it was all piled up in the living room. The couple first organized the master bedroom, setting up the bed, desk, vanity, wardrobe, and two cabinets.

*

The two-story small house had a simple layout with few rooms, but each was quite spacious. Even with all the furniture placed, there was still a lot of empty space, enough for an extra bamboo bed.

In those days, families liked big rooms since everyone's needs were different, so it was easy to divide them up. In the capital, a single room could be split into three or even four or five smaller rooms.

Space was tight in the capital, and some newlyweds could make a home with just one or two square meters. You'd see people outside fighting over just a square meter or two of space.

Like her older brother and sister-in-law, and her second brother and sister-in-law, who lived in small partitioned rooms.

As Qin Yao made the bed, her mind wandered. She hardly ate anything that evening. On the other hand, Gu Cheng had a good appetite and finished off the whole pot of rice. Their neighbor, Sister Zaohua, worried that the newly moved-in couple hadn't started cooking yet, had kindly sent over some food, which Gu Cheng ate without fuss.

After a simple tidying up of the house, Qin Yao changed into a cotton pajama set. The window in the master bedroom was opened, and the night breeze felt refreshing and pleasant. The autumn and winter on the island weren't cold, so there was no need for a fan at night, just a thin quilt for comfort.

Gu Cheng came into the room, ditching his military uniform for shorts and a white tank top. In those days, men of all ages wore this outfit at home—simple, thin, and somewhat see-through, vaguely revealing the texture of the skin underneath.

Qin Yao knew these white tank tops cost only six dimes each, which had shocked her when she visited the local department store.

So, she bought a dozen for Gu Cheng, spending nearly one-third of her monthly salary—six bucks for ten pieces, no discount. After buying them, she laughed, thinking that these clothes had a definite old-man vibe.

But when Gu Cheng wore them, they took on the vibe of a sexy, tight-fitting outfit.

His muscles were well-proportioned, neither gaunt nor bulging like a bodybuilder's. The smooth lines of his muscles reminded Qin Yao of the fish she had seen at sea, their flesh tender... No, no, stop that train of thought.

"Tonight, I'll sleep on the bed, and you take the floor," Qin Yao said.

Gu Cheng glanced at the makeshift "floor bed" and sat down without complaint. Seeing Zaohua relax completely, he found it amusing.

But he wasn't going to make it that easy for her.

"Goodnight then," Qin Yao said, seeing Gu Cheng sitting obediently on the floor bed. Her previously tense heart relaxed for nothing. Once a person relaxed, it was like a punctured balloon—no longer able to fly.

She happily fell back on the bed, rolling left and right like an unrestrained sea otter. The quilt spread out on the bed wrapped around her like a spring roll.

This simple and comfortable way of covering herself was a unique secret skill she had perfected since childhood.

Her side face sank into the pillow as she closed her eyes, waiting for the man to turn off the light. Back in the dormitory, it was always Zhang Yufei who turned off the light.

She waited for a while, but the light remained on. She had to open her eyes and saw Gu Cheng crouching by the bedside, staring at her without blinking.

Qin Yao, trying to cover her tracks, asked, "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"

Gu Cheng gave her a stern look. "Are you really going to sleep like this?"

"You've wrapped yourself up like you're guarding against a thief."

Gu Cheng glanced at the large "caterpillar" on the bed, both amused and exasperated. Was he supposed to hug a spring roll to sleep from now on?

"Tonight, we don't have to do anything. I won't force you. But Yaoyao, we need to be clear in advance—when will we become a real married couple? You know what I mean?" Gu Cheng sat by the bed, speaking to her. Qin Yao didn't dare look at him directly, only glancing at his arm.

Qin Yao poked her head out from the rolled quilt, giving it a shake. Her hair fell over her shoulders, and under the light, her skin was flawless as coagulated cream. She lowered her eyes, pondering the man's words.

"Wait until we go home. Let's meet each other's parents first, then have the wedding reception. After that, everything will work out."

Gu Cheng's eyes darkened, his voice low. "There are a lot of people in my family, and the rooms are small. After the reception, we'll go to your place. Will it work if we use your room?"

"No, no, no, absolutely not." Qin Yao's eyes widened as she sat up straight, fully awake, recalling how miserable her elder and second sisters-in-law had been. She thought back to why she had headed south.

Anyone who's ever stayed in a partitioned room knows how terrible the soundproofing is. At night, when her sisters-in-law were intimate with their husbands, the entire family could hear everything clearly. No one dared to make a sound. At most, when it became excessively unbearable, her mom would shout, while her dad slept like a log, his snores unable to drown out the noise.

Qin Yao had no desire to experience such embarrassment.

Her own home was pitifully small, and even though Gu Cheng's home was slightly larger, his parents lived there too, which would also be awkward—like they were eavesdropping.

It was better here. For now, this little house only had the two of them. Even if they made a lot of noise, the people next door wouldn't be able to hear clearly.

"It's better to stay here," Qin Yao resigned herself to the situation.

Gu Cheng suppressed a smile. "Then let's not wait for a good day. Today is as good as any."

Qin Yao reached out and pinched his handsome face, silently acknowledging his words. They were already legally married. There wasn't much point in holding back anymore.

"Be gentle," she whispered, burrowing under the quilt.

Gu Cheng blinked. "I promise."

After that, he also slid under the quilt. Before long, the quilt was thrown to the floor. Qin Yao, valuing propriety, tried to reach for the quilt. She felt it was better to be covered.

"Why do you need a quilt? I'm here. I'll be your blanket, and you won't catch a cold."

"Ow! You bit me."

...

The next morning, Qin Yao woke up groggily, her body feeling incredibly comfortable, as if she were soaking in a hot spring. She even imagined herself as a little water capybara, floating in a pool with fresh oranges. Oranges floated beside her, and one perched playfully on her head as she leisurely enjoyed the bath.

The feeling of comfort was addictive.

Opening her eyes, she realized she was held tightly in a warm embrace. Memories of the previous night flooded back, and her face grew red with embarrassment, though she couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. Among other things, Gu Cheng's legs were very beautiful—long and straight.

In her life, Qin Yao had never seen legs so long up close. She almost wanted to measure them with a ruler—all three were impressively long.

"Awake? Why not sleep a bit more?" Gu Cheng opened his eyes and smiled gently at her.

Qin Yao said, "I'm hungry."

Though a liberal arts student, she had a scientific curiosity. She rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a red measuring tape. She had Gu Cheng lie down and carefully measured him as he lay beside her.

Gu Cheng: "?"

As a man, he was quite open. Captain Gu leaned back on the bed, letting her measure him without a word.

He didn't tell Qin Yao that he was an expert in measurements, his eyes more precise than any ruler. But even though he had guessed the measurements, he never expected him to be this soft.

Softer than soft tofu.

Qin Yao, true to her role as his wife, was thinking the same thing—she never expected him to be this soft.

Qin Yao touched it and murmured, "It's not as long as I thought." Nor as big.

Gu Cheng remained impassive. "Try again."

The little sponge instantly expanded.

Qin Yao: "!"

Not so wild, please.

The newlywed couple horsed around on the bed for a while. Qin Yao genuinely admired him for being so shameless, walking around so openly. She could never do that; maybe men were just born with thicker skin.

After getting dressed, she was hugged from behind. Qin Yao reached out and touched the man's cheek, and the familiar chime of the affection level prompt sounded. As usual, Qin Yao chose to ignore it.

Affection levels were always in flux, and knowing the exact numbers could be troubling. Qin Yao didn’t want to be bothered by the fluctuating digits, especially when it came to the people closest to her.

Still, after spending twenty-four hours with Chen Baozhen, most of the affection gifts she received were skills like "X-ray vision," whereas with Gu Cheng, the gift was "photographic memory."

It was clear that Gu Cheng had an astonishingly good memory.

Perhaps it was due to this affection system, but being with Gu Cheng wasn’t uncomfortable at all; in fact, it was incredibly pleasurable. When she woke up the next morning, there was none of the soreness described in novels.

If she had known this earlier, all her previous worries would have been for nothing. For her, this was purely beneficial, with no downsides—a blissful paradise.

This could also be considered an alternative kind of cheat. Qin Yao was glad she wasn’t the female lead of some smutty novel but merely an exceptional supporting character in a retro novel.

Qin Yao wasn’t one to dwell on things too much. Once she figured it out, she embraced her shameless side. She turned her head to look at the man behind her and felt his little sponge misbehaving again. She resisted the urge to tease him. "Want to go again?"

But then she thought better of it. After all, indulgence wasn’t good, and she wasn’t in a smutty plot.

In the morning, Gu Cheng went to cook two bowls of egg noodles. Qin Yao ate half but couldn’t finish it. Gu Cheng urged her, "Yaoyao, eat more. You're too thin."

Qin Yao, in turn, advised, "You should eat more too. When we go to my parents' house for the New Year, they'll definitely say you're too thin. How can you be the son-in-law of our Qin family if you're just a skeleton?"

Gu Cheng picked up her bowl and continued eating, laughing. "Am I a skeleton? If they don’t know, you should."

Qin Yao said coolly, "My mom thinks you weigh at least two hundred pounds."

Gu Cheng: "..."