Listening to His Wife
Lin Chuan immediately covered his mouth with his hand, feeling like he had embarrassed himself on a grand scale. Su Su realized she had caused trouble but couldn’t help finding her husband’s reaction absolutely adorable. She tried to hold back her laughter, her face flushing red as she finally pulled the window open to let in some cool air, calming herself down.
The two men up front, however, thought the pair in the back had gotten so “heated” that they needed fresh air to cool off. They silently endured, not daring to complain about the cold.
Having a wife is truly a blessing, they thought, silently beginning to envy Lin Chuan.
—
The trip had been particularly hard for Lin Chuan, not because of his injury but because of how much Su Su pampered him. She barely let him move, watching over him with the utmost care. Ultimately, they were forced to spend the night on the road. Though the journey was planned to reach the commune by midnight, Su Su insisted on stopping overnight, worried that Lin Chuan’s injury would worsen from the long sitting time.
She spent her own money to arrange two rooms at a county guesthouse—one for her and Lin Chuan and the other for Lin Donghe and the young soldier who accompanied them.
Everything should have been fine, but Lin Chuan needed to change his bandages that night. He struggled for a while before awkwardly asking Su Su to turn her back while he did it himself.
Su Su rolled her eyes dramatically. “What’s a big man like you afraid of? On our wedding night, didn’t you already see *everything* of me? What, now it’s not okay for me to look? And trust me, I’m not exactly dying to look either.”
That stung Lin Chuan a little, making him feel as though he had upset his wife. “Fine… then I’ll trouble you.”
Though embarrassed, he decided to let her help. After all, they were husband and wife. He’d just recover quickly and repay her in the future.
This was Su Su’s first time seeing Lin Chuan’s injury. According to him, someone had tried to cripple him, stabbing a knife with full intent to ruin him. Lin Chuan had managed to dodge, but the blade still pierced deeply into his thigh.
It was a heavy injury, and though it hadn’t damaged the bone thanks to the muscle mass in his legs, the blood loss had put him at great risk.
Still, the injury’s *location* was incredibly awkward. Su Su’s face flushed as she tried her best to focus on the task. Thankfully, applying medicine didn’t take long. The hospital had provided all the necessary supplies, so it was just a matter of applying the ointment and wrapping it with gauze.
The entire time, Lin Chuan lay stiff on the bed, gripping his pants tightly as if terrified something improper might be exposed. He didn’t want to scare his wife, and with his current state, there was no way he could chase her down if she ran off.
Su Su wasn’t going anywhere. For her, this was more of a challenge than anything. Her gaze wandered, a little unsteady, but she reminded herself—This is my husband. If I don’t look, it’s wasted.
One glance confirmed what she suspected—not small. The man clearly had a sense of propriety, keeping his hands in place the entire time as though trying to shield her from something scandalous.
Flustered, she quickly finished applying the medicine and let out a relieved sigh. “Done!” she announced, heading off to discard the used gauze.
Lin Chuan, sweating profusely, hurriedly pulled his pants back up. Just as he was finishing, Lin Donghe entered the room. Seeing Lin Chuan’s flushed face and dishevelled state, Lin Donghe’s expression froze, and his mind immediately jumped to conclusions.
He coughed awkwardly. “Uh… I just came to check if your wound had reopened.”
“It hasn’t,” Lin Chuan replied calmly, his voice deep and steady. Though he knew Lin Donghe had misunderstood, he didn’t bother to explain.
Lin Donghe, however, walked closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “The doctor mentioned one thing you need to watch out for.”
“What is it?” Lin Chuan asked, frowning.
“The doctor said you should avoid any intense… activity for now. You know, it could, um… reopen the wound. So maybe just endure for a while?”
“…” Lin Chuan immediately realized how deeply misunderstood he was. “I was just changing my bandages.”
“Oh, my mistake!” Lin Donghe said hurriedly. Seeing Su Su return, he muttered an excuse and quickly left the room.
Su Su watched him leave in confusion but didn’t dwell on it. She washed her face, then brought a warm cloth to help Lin Chuan clean up as well. Once done, she pulled out her lotion, applying some to her own face before squeezing a bit more for Lin Chuan.
“Hey, what’s this?” he grumbled, instinctively pulling away.
“Hold still,” she replied firmly, patting the lotion onto his face. “Your skin’s been through a lot—wind, dust, and injuries. We need to take care of it.”
She pulled out a sheet mask next. “This is for repairing your skin and fighting inflammation. It’ll help with the injuries on your face. Let me put it on for you.”
Lin Chuan’s brow furrowed deeply. “No need. I’m a man—why do I need to take care of my face?”
“I already opened it, so we’re not wasting it,” Su Su said, ignoring his protests. Kneeling beside him, she leaned closer. “Besides, *I* want to see you looking good.”
Caught off guard, Lin Chuan was too stunned to resist as Su Su carefully smoothed the mask onto his face.
To her, it was a hilarious sight. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from giggling. In modern times, convincing a straight-laced guy like Lin Chuan to wear a sheet mask would be next to impossible. Only in this era could she get away with it.
As she hummed a tune, she unwrapped a bar of chocolate, breaking off pieces and slipping them into Lin Chuan’s mouth. He’d never tasted anything like it—sweet and slightly bitter, but because it came from Su Su, it was the most delicious thing he’d ever had.
—
The night was still young, and neither could fall asleep. Su Su took out a book from her bag and offered, “How about I read to you for a bit?”
“You’ll get tired.”
“I won’t. Oh, and you need more nutrition right now—you should drink some milk.” She pulled out two small packs of pure milk from her seemingly endless backpack.
Lin Chuan glanced at the oversized bag and muttered, “How long were you planning to stay in the village? You brought so much stuff.”
“I was planning to stay a year. Everything I’ve saved up over the years is in this bag—even powdered milk coupons!” Lin Chuan nearly choked on his milk. A deep blush spread over his face, making his usually stern demeanour seem soft and endearing.
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