An Zhiyuan had placed several pots of flowers that Bai Xiao had purchased all over their home’s balcony. Since his wife enjoyed such a mood, of course he wanted to satisfy her. Here, flowers and greenery weren’t considered valuable commodities because they were abundant.
After tidying up and straightening his back, he looked around their home. Indeed, having a wife made a difference. Bai Xiao’s style filled every corner of the house, and a woman’s gentleness and warmth were evident in every small detail, including the delicate white fabric with small flowers on the sofa, and a vase on the coffee table with fresh white lilies and green baby’s breath emitting a mild, pleasant fragrance.
The sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen conveyed that someone was indeed busying themself at home.
The feeling of home grew ever stronger.
Bai Xiao quickly prepared millet porridge. With no dry food at home, she mixed eggs and flour with some chopped green onions, salt, and five-spice powder, adding water to blend it evenly. Soon, she could make a few egg pancakes. As she heated the pan, she called out to Colonel An.
"Zhiyuan, come and have your meal, it’s almost ready."
She had already stir-fried a dish of spicy and sour cabbage, a side she enjoyed with her millet porridge. However, knowing An Zhiyuan’s preferences was still unclear to her, so she made him a separate dish. As a married couple, she couldn’t just take care of her own preferences; she didn’t always want An Zhiyuan to accommodate her.
An Zhiyuan responded, and as his tall stature appeared in the kitchen, it immediately seemed cramped.
"Xiaoxiao, I’m here."
Seeing his wife, wearing an apron and busily working in front of the gas stove, pouring a spoonful of batter, rotating the pan to form a beautiful round egg pancake, the fragrance wafting out, his heart was full of emotion. He had lost his mother early and didn’t get along with his stepmother, so he always tried to stay at school or spend time outside rather than at home.
Back then, what he envied most about others was the sight of a family dining together—father, mother, children—gathered around the table, with a kind mother serving food and dishing up for her children. As the son of Chief An, who wouldn’t offer him a meal?
But who could understand that what he coveted was the warmth and coziness of their homes, a soothing feeling he longed to drown in and never leave, yet it was something he desperately wanted but couldn’t have?
Now, at last, he also had a home of his own, with Bai Xiao, and in the future, their children. There would be their own laughter and tears, countless stories, but these would be his family members, his warm haven, his faith and support—his lifelong kin.
Bai Xiao heard his voice choking with emotion and asked curiously, "What’s the matter?"
He hugged her waist from behind, "Wife, I’m so happy, I finally have a home."
Bai Xiao smiled. An Zhiyuan’s upbringing was different from her own, but what they had in common was their loneliness and their intense longing for the consolation of family love. They were similar in that way.
Home was a warm fortress for them! A place that protected the warmest sunshine in their hearts.
"Hurry up and serve the food. This is our home’s first meal together, let’s eat!"
Bai Xiao’s joy was infectious to An Zhiyuan. He kissed her neck, causing Bai Xiao to laugh and shrink her neck away as it was her sensitive spot, before finally serving the food.