"I forgot." He Zhilan giggled twice.
"I really don’t know how you managed to get into university." He Teng grumbled, reaching for another bite of noodles. He lowered his head to blow on the noodles before bringing them to Zhilan’s mouth, "Open wide!"
"Ahh~" He Zhilan opened her mouth, making a sound as she did.
He Teng was instantly amused by this and began to laugh. His hand, holding the bowl, shook gently and his deep laughter echoed around, "He Zhilan, are you a three-year-old?"
For Zhilan, it was purely an automatic response. When He Teng said ’open wide’, she obediently opened her mouth to wait for him to feed her the noodles. Without realizing it, she became the butt of He Teng’s joke.
"If you laugh again, I’ll tell Dad that you bullied me!" Zhilan protested, glaring at He Teng before shyly lowering her head to rub her nose with the remaining fingers of her hand.
"Ambitious." He Teng responded to Zhilan, his smile not diminishing in the slightest, "Eat quickly, the noodles will go cold in this weather."
Only then did Zhilan nod, not forgetting to point at the vegetables in the bowl. She grinned at He Teng, making it clear that she wanted to eat them.
He Teng scoffed at her but complied. He fed Zhilan two bites of noodles, a piece of vegetable, and a sip of soup in turns.
"Brother, when we used to celebrate New Year at home, Dad always gave me a red envelope!" Zhilan’s words were a bit unclear as she spoke with her mouth full of noodles. Her cheeks puffed out with each chew, making her look extremely adorable. Her round eyes were focused on He Teng’s face, as if checking for any signs of impatience.
"Didn’t Dad teach you not to talk when your mouth is full?" He Teng admonished Zhilan before adding, "You’re married now, you’re not a little girl anymore!"
Zhilan swallowed the noodles in her mouth and argued back, "Even if I’m married, I’m still Dad’s daughter, and also his daughter-in-law! By that logic, I should get two red envelopes from Dad! I chose to stay with you instead of going home, so shouldn’t you compensate me on Dad’s behalf?"
After a slight pause, Zhilan giggled again, "That’s not right! Even after being married, I’m still your sister, and also your wife. Before, you weren’t there to give me a red envelope, but now you’re right here. Tell me, as my brother and husband, would you feel guilty if you didn’t give me a red envelope? This is our first New Year after getting married!"
He Teng was rendered speechless by Zhilan’s sharp-tongued rebuttal. Seeing her smug expression, he stuffed another mouthful of cooled noodles into her mouth, "Don’t talk while eating! Did you not learn anything in school?"
"Mmm Mmm Mmm~~" Zhilan didn’t expect this. She just sat there, her big round eyes wide open, resignedly eating the noodles. Alas, her He Teng was quite a hard nut to crack!
After dinner, He Teng washed up the dishes. Considering Zhilan’s hand injury, he wouldn’t have dreamt of letting her do it. When he finished, he took Zhilan to see the army surgeon to have her wound looked at and the dressing changed.
Because of the large number of soldiers and training activities, there was always a military doctor on duty. When He Teng led Zhilan in, they saw Lan Li who was also there. He wasn’t there for a medical visit but seemed to be having a conversation with the doctor. They only caught snippets of the conversation, something about psychological diseases. Then, as if aware of the newcomers, the conversation stopped.