Chapter 87 First Update

Choosing to transfer to the Cultural Center has its pros and cons. The advantage is that the working hours are relatively flexible. Apart from meetings and other activities, you only need to write articles as required by the higher-ups.

When it comes to writing, the unit won't demand that you sit in the office to do it. You can "work from home." Additionally, it becomes natural to go out for "inspiration gathering" and "finding muse" with valid reasons.

However, this freedom only works if you can eventually deliver results.

While the working hours are flexible, the downside is that it's farther to attend meetings. Unlike working at the Military Hospital, where Qin Yao could hitch a ride and arrive quickly, she would have to ride a bicycle to the county cultural center. It's not far, but it's still a distance.

After some hesitation, Qin Yao decided to transfer to the Cultural Center. This way, she could have more time to accompany her child, and her working hours would be more flexible and free. Additionally, the county cultural center was not yet separated from the county library, which made it convenient for Qin Yao to read and borrow books.

Working at the Cultural Center would be different from the Military Hospital. She would become a full-time employee at the Cultural Center. Although her salary remained the same, other work benefits had significantly improved.

Qin Yao discussed her plan to transfer to the county cultural center with Gu Cheng, who was not very happy about it. Deep down, he still hoped that Qin Yao would stay at the Military Hospital.

"Everything is fine now. Why make it so complicated?" Gu Cheng furrowed his brow, a vague sense of irritation spreading through his body.

"It's not complicated. If I transfer, I'll have more free time, and my working hours will be more flexible. The two children are still young and need their mother's company."

Gu Cheng asked, "Are you taking the child with you?"

"Depends on the situation." Qin Yao blinked, somewhat surprised as she looked at the man in front of her. It's just a change to a less stressful job, right? Yet, Comrade Gu reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail, all riled up.

"Do you know if the place you're transferring to has many male colleagues? What if they spend all day writing poems, singing, and playing the harmonica? Will you blend in with them and leave me and our son behind?" Gu Cheng picked up his younger son, Mingming, and although he didn't want to show weakness in front of his wife, there was a hint of resentment in his voice, the kind that belongs to a 'husband with a chip on his shoulder.'

Outside, he could be majestic, but his life on land was confined to a few fixed places, with everything else out of reach.

When Qin Yao worked at the Military Hospital, it was fine. Everyone knew she was Gu Cheng's wife, and few dared to provoke her.

But once she moved to the county cultural center, there would be a large group of artists and writers, both men and women, which could lead to problems. After all, throughout history, the emotional entanglements of literati have been more complicated than those of ordinary people, and more likely to cause trouble.

Although his wife had given birth to two children, she was still in her early twenties, young and beautiful. What if some charming poet with a way with words takes a liking to you?

"Captain Gu, are you really that insecure?" Qin Yao said with a smile. She walked over to Gu Cheng and nudged him with her elbow. Even though she knew he was probably overacting, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, as if she were becoming a heartbreaker.

Some men, ah, are majestic outside, but pitiful at home, turning into a 'husband with a chip on his shoulder.'

She could understand Gu Cheng's feelings. Their profession was respected, but they lost the most precious "freedom." Being confined to one place for too long could lead to mental issues. Don't think men don't get caught up in their thoughts either.

There's a most terrifying punishment in the world, which is solitary confinement. Locking someone in a dark cell, even with water and food, they would still lose their mind in the darkness.

"Now that I'm a dad to two kids, who else would want me besides their mom?" Gu Cheng pretended to sigh.

Qin Yao snorted, "If something happened to me, plenty of people would offer to be a stepmother to the kids."

"Don't say that." Gu Cheng hugged her. "Our kids don't need a stepmom or a stepdad."

"Don't worry, I won't fancy other men. I set my eyes on you at first sight. Your appearance suits my taste more. Not everyone looks like you—you're so young and handsome, you look like a little brother. Captain Gu, I bet if you put on a sailor's uniform and blended into a crowd without your usual serious face, everyone would think you're a new recruit."

Gu Cheng shamelessly said, "Flattery, flattery."

In the past, Gu Cheng disliked it when others said he looked young. He wished people would say he looked older. Now, it's the complete opposite. He feared others might say he looked old.

"Yaoyao, if someone writes you a poem, don't accept it, okay?"

Qin Yao rolled her eyes. "If anyone writes me a love poem, I’ll report them for harassment. Do you think everyone is as cunning as you, putting on a cold face while delivering love poems, even writing them in print to keep themselves squeaky clean?"

Qin Yao didn’t believe Gu Cheng was a simple man. He had learned to play the long game, knowing she didn’t respond to brute force. Now he was testing her with subtle tactics.

And boy, was he shameless—manipulating her every step of the way.

Look, even though she knew he was acting, she still couldn’t help but feel guilty and wanted to compensate him. Poor guy, stuck in his own little world all day…

How strange, this formidable Captain Gu actually needed her pity?

A predator playing the victim in front of a pacifist, like a crocodile pretending to be harmless.

No, he was more like a feline. When he wasn’t hungry, he liked to toy with his prey.

Qin Yao poked the chubby cheek of her younger son, Mingming, and sighed, "Our two sons look so obedient, like they don’t have a single scheming bone in their bodies."

She had wanted to have two well-behaved babies, and now that they were here, neither of them was very troublesome. The older son resembled his mother, appearing gentle and always smiling, never causing a fuss.

The younger one was a bit more energetic but still clueless, like a bumbling little lamb.

Their father was full of schemes, and she didn’t seem like someone without a plan, so why did both of their children turn out like this?

Although they say you can tell a person’s character from the age of three, these children were only a few months old. What could you really discern? Still, Qin Yao had this quirky but oddly reliable "favorability system."

The two children she gave birth to, who fed on her milk, had an incredibly high dependency on their mother, with a natural full favorability towards her. This way, Qin Yao gained two more family members with high favorability towards her.

Chen Baozhen had sharp eyes, and staying by her side for a full twenty-four hours allowed Qin Yao to gain the [X-ray Vision] skill, an enhanced version of Chen Baozhen’s innate talent. The same went for Gu Cheng. Gu Cheng had an extraordinary memory—he could recall thousands of equipment models without breaking a sweat. It was like he had a supercomputer for a brain.

Even at a young age, Gu Cheng earned the title of Captain from everyone, thanks to his reputation as the base’s ‘walking encyclopedia.’

Now, with these two simple-minded sons, who were born with full favorability towards their mother, Qin Yao received "favorability gifts" from her months-old infants. When she saw the results, she was completely taken aback.

The elder, Rui Rui, looked like her, and his personality seemed calm. Qin Yao initially thought he had a "hidden boss" personality, but the favorability gift he gave her was an ability called "Affinity."

Affinity—what exactly did that mean? Was it supposed to make people like her more, or feel closer to her? Unfortunately, there was no system explanation, so she didn’t know how to determine the actual effect of affinity.

While Rui Rui gave her the gift of Affinity, Mingming’s gift was even more unusual: Vitality.

Qin Yao used these two skills but didn’t feel anything unusual, as if they were two fake abilities.

Did she give birth to two simple and lively little cubs?

This was different from what she had imagined. She had fantasized about playful little tiger cubs, but instead, she got tiger cubs that were gentle and full of affinity.

Expecting a fierce ocean predator, but ending up with a gentle dolphin.

It was hard to say whether she felt disappointed or something else. In any case… sigh, gentle boys were fine too, but Qin Yao had watched too many TV dramas as a child. In those shows, the gentle ones were always the heartbroken second leads.

Looking at her two sons, the elder seemed like a gentle and cunning second male lead, while the younger was like a silly, sunny, and optimistic third male lead. Neither of them had the makings of a protagonist.

So, one with Affinity and the other with Vitality—was this really how they were going to turn out?

"They’re just like you," Gu Cheng honestly replied. Indeed, both boys in the family didn’t seem very clever.

Especially this child named Mingming, who looked like him. With a handsome face resembling his, it was written all over with "foolishness."

Gu Cheng would never admit that he used to be just as goofy when he was little.

It is said that he was quite domineering as a child and hard to manage. If he had siblings, he would have been eager to dominate.

"Do you find me more approachable now?" Qin Yao activated her【Affinity】ability and gave Gu Cheng a gentle, slightly forced smile. She tried to make her smile seem warm, but the more she forced it, the faker it looked.

"Affinity?"

Qin Yao blinked. "Yes, don't you feel a difference in me compared to just now? Don't I seem more approachable?"

Gu Cheng smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "You just want me to kiss you, right? You're getting really good at sweet-talking me."

Qin Yao: "..."

The so-called【Affinity】ability probably wasn't supposed to work like this; otherwise, she'd just be showing off like a peacock. Instead of being a charming and kind-hearted character, she'd become a suave but heartless playboy.

While the two were talking, a sharp scream suddenly came from outside. "Ah! Ah! A snake! There's a snake!"

Startled, Qin Yao remembered that it had been hot lately, and snakes often wandered out to roam. It was unusual to find a snake in such a densely populated area, but it wasn't strange to catch many venomous snakes in the military base every year.

Qin Yao asked Gu Cheng to watch the children while she walked to the second-floor balcony, driven by curiosity to watch the commotion. People are like that—the more scared they are, the more they want to see what's happening. Soon, someone would come to catch the snake.

Tomorrow, she would have to find a way to spread some snake repellent outside the yard and plant some snake-repelling plants.

The snake had appeared in the neighbor's yard, specifically in the yard of another sister-in-law, besides Zaohua. The woman had discovered it while watering the vegetables.

Gathering her courage, she used a stick to drive the snake away, but the startled snake began to dart around erratically, causing the woman to scream as well.

For a few tense moments, the woman and the snake faced off, but soon, the specialized snake catchers from the base arrived with their tools.

Seeing that help had come and it was safe, Qin Yao went downstairs and outside to get a closer look, curious about how they would catch the snake.

She walked out of her yard to the neighbor's, where Gu Cheng stood at the door watching the two children in the stroller.

The snake was coiled beneath the vegetable leaves, and the crowd marveled at its size.

"It's quite big, not easy to catch."

"Why did it come here?"

...

Qin Yao stood at the entrance of the neighbor's yard, just watching the commotion, when suddenly, the snake shot toward her like a bolt from the blue.