In the afternoon, Ye Qian came back.
Ye’s mother relayed to Ye Qian what Gu Yi had said to her.
However, she didn’t mention to Ye Qian that Sun Ming was a top student at B University.
Ye’s mother feared that telling her would add to her psychological burden.
It might be better to let things go naturally between them.
The next day, after Sun Ming arrived at the store, he noticed Ye Qian was in a great mood.
"Is something making you happy today?"
Sun Ming stood next to Ye Qian and asked softly.
Ye Qian smiled mysteriously.
"Do I have the honor to know what it is?"
Seeing Ye Qian’s smile, Sun Ming also felt good.
Ye Qian said with a smile.
Sun Ming was a bit baffled.
"So does this mean you’re agreeing to be friends with me?"
Sun Ming realized and said happily.
"We’ve always been friends, haven’t we?"
Ye Qian teased him on purpose.
"Hmm, I mean the kind that’s really close."
Sun Ming smiled suggestively.
Originally, Ye Qian intended to tease him, but she didn’t expect to be teased herself by him.
"Alright, I can’t win against you, let’s get back to work."
Ye Qian quickly changed the topic.
Sun Ming clasped his hands and gestured to Ye Qian.
Ye Qian felt really good without holding back her feelings.
Though Sun Ming had hinted to her before, after the incident with Wu Liang,
she lost confidence in herself and feared encountering the same situation again, so she’d never responded to Sun Ming’s hints.
After talking with Ye’s mother yesterday, she let go of her hang-ups.
At least Sun Ming wasn’t the same sort of person as Wu Liang.
Watching Sun Ming work, she decided to make an effort for herself just this once.
At noon, after Gu Yi got back from school, Li Yitian called.
He said he had arranged a meeting with Liang Yesheng and informed Gu Yi of the time and place.
After lunch, Gu Yi returned to her room to work on her design drawing.
The drawing Gu Yi started yesterday, she had redone it many times already.
But Gu Yi still felt it wasn’t quite good enough.
Maybe because it was the first design drawing of her life, Gu Yi had especially high standards for it.
After returning from evening self-study, Gu Yi drew it several more times.
She finally got satisfied with it before midnight.
The following drawings were also results of repeated contemplation.
By Friday, she had finally finished four drawings.
Ye Hao hadn’t taken leave this week, so Gu Yi decided to visit him at the military base on Saturday.
Because of Ye Qian’s store renovation and other store affairs, it had been two weeks since Gu Yi last visited the base.
She felt she had to go this time.
Otherwise, while the whole family was in the city, he was alone at the base.
Because Ye Qian’s storefront was undergoing renovation, Ye Qian and Ye Fu couldn’t go, and Ye’s mother had to cook in the city, so Gu Yi ended up going alone.
Early Saturday morning, Gu Yi went to the market to buy a chicken, prepared to nourish Ye Hao.
She also bought some meat and other vegetables.
There wasn’t much seasonal fruit, but peaches were on the market.
Gu Yi bought some apples and peaches.
She put everything she bought in a basket.
Once at the base, she first took care of the chicken and started boiling it.
Even though Ye Hao lived alone, the place was kept quite tidy.
Seeing there wasn’t much to clean, Gu Yi took the quilt outside to air it out.
At noon, Ye Hao came back to pick up his lunchbox, saw the quilt airing outside, and knew Gu Yi had come.
He quickly pushed open the door.
As soon as he did, a delicious aroma wafted from inside.
When he entered, Gu Yi was back turned towards him, stir-frying a dish.
Ye Hao walked up behind Gu Yi and hugged her from behind.
"It’s great when the wife is here; I’ve missed your cooking."
Ye Hao’s warm breath tickled Gu Yi’s neck, making her feel itchy.
She quickly laughed and dodged to the side.
"Alright, stop playing around. I’m cooking; you should take the dishes out first."
Gu Yi quickly found something for Ye Hao to do.
"Okay, should I also take the soup?"
Ye Hao asked, pointing at the soup still simmering on the stove.
"That’s the chicken soup; it’s not ready yet. You’ll have to wait a bit longer, but it should be done before you return to duty. Drink it before going back to the base."
"It’s wonderful having the wife around; now there’s someone to care for me."
Ye Hao said, looking touched.
"Alright, don’t flatter me, just get the dishes out, you must be hungry."
Gu Yi smiled sweetly.
"How’s Qianqian’s store renovation coming along?"
Ye Hao knew about Ye Qian’s store renovation but couldn’t help, so he asked Gu Yi when she was around.
"Are they getting new equipment, or shipping what’s back home over?"
The Ye Family’s equipment at home was barely a year old and still in good use. But it remained back home, and shipping would incur costs. Buying new ones again seemed wasteful.
"Last time, I heard from dad and mom that they planned to bring the stuff over, then rent out the original place. It’s unnecessary to leave it empty; renting it out would generate some income."
Gu Yi mentioned what Ye Fu and others had planned.
"That makes sense; otherwise, equipment left unused might go bad. Shipping them over, even with shipping costs, is still more cost-effective than buying new ones."
Ye Hao agreed it made sense to bring them over since Ye Qian told him those things weren’t cheap when bought.
"It’s good once everything sorts out. I won’t have to worry too much anymore."
Gu Yi smiled as she spoke.
"Yiyi, you’ve worked hard. I can’t help much being in the military..."
Ye Hao said as he served Gu Yi some dishes.
"Alright, stop saying that. There’s nothing really hard about it. I’m your family’s daughter-in-law; it’s what I should be doing."
Gu Yi didn’t like Ye Hao expressing such sentiments, as it suggested a distance between them. As a couple, she considered it her responsibility.
Moreover, the Ye Family had treated her well, and she didn’t feel overburdened.
"Okay, I won’t say it again. Let’s have our meal."
Ye Hao knew Gu Yi didn’t like hearing it but felt troubled if he didn’t say anything.
"But someone will eventually take over, so I won’t worry for long."
Gu Yi said with a laugh.
"Has Qianqian found someone? How are they?"
Ye Hao immediately caught on.
He cared a lot about the person’s character.
After the Wu Liang incident, Ye Qian seemed to grow instantly, but as her brother, he didn’t want her to encounter similar problems again.
"The young man is quite nice, good-looking, with a good family. The key is that he’s a top student from B University."
"Sounds like a good background. Can he treat Qianqian well?"
Ye Hao’s first thought upon hearing that was that his background seemed pretty good, and Qianqian probably wouldn’t suffer hardships. But he wondered if the person was genuine toward Qianqian.
"For now, he seems quite good. He was introduced by Yitian from the renovation company. Dad, mom, and I have met him, and he seems nice. Someday when you’re free to come to the city, I’ll take you to see him."