Yu Bingliang looked at her and sighed, "Rongrong, let’s just drop it, we can’t afford to offend the Han Family." It was a lie if he said he wasn’t still interested, but the Han Family was truly a behemoth he dared not provoke easily.
"Okay, Uncle Yu." Although Lu Rong verbally responded this way, her mind was certainly not on the same page. With her head bowed, she hid the determination in her eyes.
Time moved on to Friday, and Lin Xiaoguai packed her things and headed home. Even though Shen Chi had said over the phone that there was nothing amiss at home, she still felt uneasy.
As soon as she stepped through the front door, she saw Little Niangao chasing a small chicken around the yard. Lin Xiaoguai was stunned for a moment, rubbing her eyes subconsciously before looking again.
Was that really a chicken!?
"Mommy!" Little Niangao had seen her by this point, no longer chasing the chicken, and flung himself into her arms.
Lin Xiaoguai, jarred back to reality by the collision, bent down and gave him a kiss, then pointed at the chicken and asked, "Where did the chicken come from?"
"It’s from the hen in the cafeteria. Grandpa Zhang gave one to me, Brother Junzi, and Taotao each; mine’s the biggest, it can run so fast!" Little Niangao boasted proudly.
Lin Xiaoguai held her forehead, somewhat understanding where the chicken had come from, but still...
"Did your dad allow you to keep it?"
"Daddy said I could keep it if Mommy agrees." After saying this, he looked at her with big watery eyes.
Lin Xiaoguai was silent; she wanted to object, fearing her son would cry, but to keep a chicken in the yard...
"Mommy, the chicken is very good. Grandpa Zhang said when it grows up it’ll lay eggs, then we won’t need to buy eggs anymore."
We never need to buy eggs anyway...
"Also, a chicken eats bugs so there’ll be no more bugs in the yard."
I’d rather have bugs in the yard than a chicken...
"And also, when it grows up it’ll crow, so we won’t have to worry about forgetting to set the alarm."
So the chicken is hermaphroditic...!?
After chattering on a great deal, Lin Xiaoguai eventually couldn’t resist his pleas and agreed to let him keep the chicken.
"How could you agree?" Shen Chi seemed surprised that night in their room.
"And you! You could have just refused him at once, why do I have to be the bad guy? He’s both pleading and acting so adorably, how could I possibly resist it?" Lin Xiaoguai complained.
Shen Chi touched his nose, could he say that he actually wanted to keep the chicken too?
"By the way, does Lu Rong live nearby our house?" He didn’t answer Lin Xiaoguai, assuming she wouldn’t press on since she too couldn’t bear to deny their son, so he changed the subject.
"Mm, just across the street." Shen Chi pulled her down to lie alongside him.
"Has she been showing up to make sure you remember she’s around these past few days?" Lin Xiaoguai curiously asked.
Shen Chi was momentarily stumped by the novel phrase "showing up to make sure you remember she’s around," but as it was self-explanatory, he quickly came back to himself, "I come across her at least three times a day; if not for the rule that military family members can’t enter freely, I’d barely get any peace."
He was well aware of what Lu Rong thought of him, but frankly, it was quite unpalatable. This was a rather novel experience for him; thanks to his advantageous situation, countless women had admired him before, but he typically found them merely annoying and dealt with them by ignoring or rejecting them. Lu Rong, however, was the first to genuinely disgust him.
These days women are generally reserved; to openly confess is already considered liberal, but relentless pursuit is rare.
But Lu Rong... this woman was exceptional to an astonishing degree, making her impossible to ignore. Regardless of his harsh words or imposing stance, she’d tremble with fright in the moment, only to shamelessly approach again next time.
Particularly, this woman was foolish beyond saving. Believing she was discreetly undermining Wanwan in front of him, at first he got angry, but later felt it was beneath him to be upset over such a fool.
Lin Xiaoguai furrowed her brow, "She hasn’t caused any trouble, has she? Like stealing something..."
"No, I haven’t let her into our house." Shen Chi had actually wanted to lash out at her several times, especially lately with some idle gossip starting in the Military District; he was worried Wanwan would misunderstand things based on what she heard.
Yet getting rid of her was not so easy, as Lu Rong was utterly shameless.
He felt somewhat guilty as he added, "Because she’s always pestering me, there’s been some gossip in the district these last few days; don’t mind it." His wife’s reputation had been cleared, only for her to suddenly become the target.
Lin Xiaoguai was taken aback and felt uncomfortable, hardly able to help saying, "Can’t you keep your distance from her?" Her tone carried an almost imperceptible hint of jealousy.
Shen Chi, somewhat amused, dared not show it on his face, instead responding solemnly, "Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. I was hoping she would take a hint and back off, but since she won’t heed the polite refusals, she can’t complain when I resort to more drastic measures." Wanwan was jealous, and he relished that secretly; laughing out loud might make her think he was enjoying the attention, which would only complicate matters.
Shen Chi was always true to his word, so despite feeling embarrassed about her own faintly sour words, Lin Xiaoguai didn’t dwell on it further.
"By the way, I’ve knitted a couple of pairs of socks for you, try them on." Lin Xiaoguai suddenly remembered something and reached for the knitting bag by the bed.
Shen Chi took them out; one pair were black and the other white, looking quite fine, yet...
He pinched them, "Wouldn’t these be too hot?" He, a grown man, barely felt cold even in deep winter, let alone now with autumn just starting.
Lin Xiaoguai paused, having forgotten Shen Chi’s tendency to run hot, not even needing a thick jacket in winter.
She said a bit sheepishly, "I’ll knit you two more pairs then, but no more wearing nylon socks."
At this point, nylon socks were common; though they were fine in other respects, they had one downside: foot odor. Shen Chi was one of the better cases, not having athlete’s foot, but still had a bit of an odor.(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)