RTAMEIN70s Chapter 19

Make Do

The two of them tidied up properly. Just as they had started working, the charcoal fire had just started burning, a kettle of boiling water was steaming, and the stools were still not warmed up. They both obtained their marriage certificates.

They each held a certificate in their hands.

Gu Sheng carefully put away the thin piece of paper and let out a barely audible sigh of relief. His muscles, which had been tense a moment ago, relaxed.

He thought he had concealed it well, but Zhan Aiping still noticed.

Zhan Aiping: “…”

Well, the wedding banquet has already passed, and the He family has also been taken care of. Even if she doesn’t get the certificate with him now and stays in the city in the future, no one can force her.

Gu Sheng must be afraid that she would regret it, so he came today to play the role of a “temporary bride.”

Now that it’s a done deal, they’ve obtained the certificate. He won’t revert to his old ways, right?

Zhan Aiping stared at Gu Sheng’s handsome profile and was stunned. Did she only have a one-day “temporary bride” experience?

——Ding, your trial period has expired.

Sensing her gaze, Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow and said, “Comrade Zhan Aiping, do you still have a chance to act like a dog? Would you like to seize it?”

Zhan Aiping was speechless and choked up. She thought, “Would you dare say this before getting the certificate?”

She glanced at him with disdain and said, “Comrade Gu Sheng, please don’t doubt Comrade Zhan’s revolutionary determination. I, Zhan Aiping, will never betray the revolution.”

Upon hearing her words, Gu Sheng smiled, a rare sight. His once charming peach blossom eyes turned into two gentle crescent moons, softening his originally unruly brows.

Zhan Aiping was taken aback; she realized that her man was indeed quite attractive.

Gu Sheng wiped away the smile on his face and pointed at the marriage certificate in her hand, teasing lazily, “Comrade Zhan Aiping with unwavering determination, remember to keep your belongings safe. This is your party membership application.”

“Don’t get expelled from the party within three years.”

Zhan Aiping replied, “Same goes for you.”

The two of them high-fived three times to celebrate.

Zhan Aiping lowered her head and looked at the piece of paper in her hand. Her mind was filled with thoughts, and she realized that she had been married to Gu Sheng since 1971. If they went until 2011, they would have celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

That would be fifty years.

However—

Now, this is just the first step of a 15,000-mile long march. What will happen next, what they will encounter, is still unpredictable.

Zhan Aiping sighed, “Well, my ‘temporary bride’ experience card is gone after all.”

“Why are you sighing? Regretting it? Want to be a dog again?” Gu Sheng felt oddly uncomfortable when he heard her sigh, thinking she might regret it.

“You’re the dog here,” Zhan Aiping rolled up her sleeve to show him bite marks on her left arm. “This is the evidence of when you let your dog bite me.”

Gu Sheng lowered his eyes, looking at the two faint marks on her arm, and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Zhan Aiping smiled, “Let it go. What apologies do we need between us? After all, I broke your head and knocked out your tooth, and I almost…”

She didn’t finish her sentence.

They had grown up together since childhood, and their past was filled with countless incidents and conflicts. They could talk for days without exhausting all the stories.

However, Zhan Aiping still murmured, “Gu Lao Wu, why did you push me?”

Gu Sheng looked puzzled, “Push you? When?”

Zhan Aiping’s head suddenly formed the character “井” (well) as she racked her brain. When indeed? She thought, “It’s true that old enemies are bound to meet again.” The tally of their past sins was immeasurable. She stomped on his foot and walked ahead on her own.

Gu Sheng’s long legs moved faster than hers, and he grabbed her hand, his tone revealing a hint of caution, “Are you… thinking of betraying the revolution?”

Zhan Aiping hesitated for a moment before replying, “…”

“No matter which time it was, I apologize,” Gu Sheng said.

Zhan Aiping looked at his nervous face and suddenly smiled, “Well, then I forgive you.”

Gu Sheng let out a sigh of relief. As soon as he realized he had lost his composure earlier, he immediately regained his cool and said, “I don’t need your forgiveness.”

“You still owe me plenty of apologies.”

This guy was really stubborn. Zhan Aiping blinked and playfully nudged him with her arm, saying, “What? Comrade Gu, are you thinking of betraying the revolution too?”

Gu Sheng chuckled, “You underestimate my determination.”

Zhan Aiping tried to put her arm around his shoulder, “Good comrade, let’s walk together from now on.”

Gu Sheng ruthlessly moved her hand away and embraced her waist lightly, saying, “You are not my comrade anymore; you are now my woman.”

“If you don’t believe me, take a look at the ‘party membership application’ in your arms and wake up.”

Zhan Aiping blushed slightly, thinking, “You’re just realizing this now?”

Did this guy ever see her as a woman before?

Thinking about that “party membership application,” Gu Sheng felt warmth in his chest. He really wanted to laugh right now, but he had to hold it in. He managed to stifle his laughter but couldn’t resist ruffling her hair.

Zhan Aiping frustratedly covered her head. “Why do you always mess with my hair? What’s wrong with this man? Do men also enjoy playing with hair?”

“I enjoy it,” Gu Sheng smiled. “Zhan Aiping, you’ve changed quite a bit since you left the army. Your hair has grown longer, your complexion has become fairer…”

She had become gentler, and she wasn’t as prickly as before.

In the past, she was like a wildcat on the roadside, with a fierce temper and a strong sense of self-defence. She would show her claws without hesitation if he got too close. But now, she had retracted her proud claws and finally allowed him to touch her.

She even willingly walked into his trap, leaving her mark and wearing an invisible leash.

—She was his cat.

No matter how she showed her claws or scratched him, she couldn’t escape anymore.

Three years? Dream on. That “party membership application” had nailed her down.

Zhan Aiping asked, “What else have I changed? What’s wrong?”

“Not much,” Gu Sheng grinned mischievously, raising his sword-like eyebrows. He leaned in and gently patted her cheek. “No dowry, no salary, all the housework is your responsibility, and no divorce for three years…”

“Remember that, Comrade Zhan, don’t act like a dog.”

Zhan Aiping was speechless. She thought, “I’m not planning to, I won’t compete with you.”

Gu Sheng was extremely pleased with himself. “My good days are still ahead of me.”

With that, he ruffled her hair again and then pretended to sigh dramatically. “Comrade Zhan, you’ll see in the future that your revolutionary comrade is quite clever.”

Zhan Aiping chuckled, “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

She blinked, thinking, “Dig your own grave, if I expose you, you might get angry.”

—Those who are favored have nothing to fear.

The beauty mark will always be your beauty mark, your lifelong beauty mark, and it won’t change from mosquito blood.

At this moment, the two of them stood on the street, the white mist dispersing. The surrounding noise was gradually increasing, and there were more pedestrians than vehicles on the road. Even four-wheeled vehicles had to move slowly in the pedestrian crowd.

Zhan Aiping took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. Someone had woken up too early; they had already finished their business by the time she had stepped out of the house.

She tugged at Gu Sheng’s sleeve and said, “Let’s go watch a movie?”

“Watch a movie? Is it necessary?” Gu Sheng frowned.

Zhan Aiping sighed internally, thinking, “I really drew the short straw as your wife.”

She yawned and stretched lazily, saying, “Let’s just go back and get some more sleep.”

She didn’t have much of a romantic bone in her body anyway. Activities like watching movies, strolling in the park, or going for a boat ride were the kinds of things couples in this era were supposed to do, but she didn’t have much interest in them.

“Since you want to go, I’ll reluctantly accompany you,” Gu Sheng said.

Zhan Aiping was surprised, “?!”

Raising ducks, she would have to raise ducks in the future! She would raise two ducks, one named Xiao Gu and the other named Xiao Sheng.

—Even ducks can be stubborn.

Around the time of the Spring Festival, there were quite a few movies being shown. Gu Sheng bought tickets, and the two of them entered the theatre to watch a movie. However, as Zhan Aiping watched, she gradually fell asleep because she realized that she had seen this movie before. Feeling tired, she drifted off to sleep while listening to the sounds.

When she woke up, the person next to her handed her a handkerchief. Gu Sheng had an expressionless face and said, “Wipe your face.”

“Some comrades sleep really soundly,” Gu Sheng remarked.

Zhan Aiping noticed the blush on her arm and instantly turned red in the face. She swore she would never go to the movies with Gu Sheng again in her lifetime!

After the movie, Gu Sheng escorted her back home. “I’ll buy the train tickets, and you can pack your luggage. I’ll come to pick you up.”

“I’ll also arrange your organizational matters.”

“Okay,” Zhan Aiping nodded. She casually added, “I trust you to handle things.”

Gu Sheng said, “Even though we’re just making do in this marriage, we still have a bit of a lifelong friendship. I won’t mistreat you.”

Zhan Aiping replied, “I also entered this marriage with a ‘making do’ attitude, but we do have some lifelong friendship. Don’t expect too much.”

Gu Sheng: “…”

Zhan Aiping made a scissor gesture behind her back, as if to say, “Watch me use magic to defeat magic.”

“By the way, I have a lot of delicious snacks at home. Take some with you. These are all gifts from my patients.”

“Oh, and there’s this hair-strengthening sesame candy. Would you like to try it? It’s quite tasty.”

Zhan Aiping teased, “You won’t have to worry about going bald in middle age.”

Although there was still a military cap to enhance his image, having hair is definitely better than being bald.

She didn’t go into detail about how skilled she was in preventing baldness since being known as a “baldness prevention expert” wasn’t exactly a flattering title.

Gu Sheng hesitated to speak, “You, you, you still have patients… You’re, uh, a quack?”

“Okay, you can look at my hand, but don’t go harming other people.” Comrade Xiao Gu thought to himself, “If I’m going to hell, who’s going to hell with me?”

Zhan Aiping’s face turned dark.

Block her, part ways, and use message in a bottle for future communication.

Indeed, it was a “lifelong friendship,” with some trust but not too much.

Gu Sheng sighed, “I never thought in my whole life that you would become a doctor.”

Zhan Aiping held his hand sincerely and said, “Wu Jie, back then, I thought you would join a performing arts troupe.”

“You sing really well, truly.” She wasn’t wrong about that because Gu Sheng did have a beautiful singing voice. He had an excellent image, a pleasant demeanour, great vocal conditions, and a good sense of music.

Gu Sheng’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. “Say that again, and see what happens.”

Zhan Aiping pinched her cheeks with both hands and made a funny face at him, silently mouthing “Blah, blah, blah.”

It had been a long time since she had made this gesture; it brought back childhood memories.

Gu Sheng: “… Why did I ever marry this woman?”

Is it too late to regret now?

Zhan Aiping dropped her hands, and the two of them looked at each other in silence. They had reached the bottom of the building, and a middle-aged woman passing by, who had just returned from buying groceries, immediately burst into laughter.

“The soldier is so attentive to his wife, he came over so early, and I heard he brought a lot of good stuff. Oh, and he’s doing the laundry and tidying up the house for his wife, he’s a really good man.”

“Teacher Xiao Zhan is so lucky, she married a great guy. He’s handsome and has a good character, unlike those other men who wouldn’t even lift a finger when something goes wrong at home.”

After saying that, the middle-aged woman left with a sly smile.

Zhan Aiping: “?”

Gu Sheng: “!”

Who told her this?