Peace of Mind
The door closed, and they didn’t turn on the lights. The halo of light from outside illuminated the room, while the noise from outside gradually faded, and the sound of the wind became silent. Gu Sheng hadn’t originally intended to go upstairs with her, but when that middle-aged woman appeared, he entered the house with a dark expression and pulled Zhan Aiping into a corner, his handsome face showing changing emotions.
Zhan Aiping turned her head to look out the window and said, “If you want to say something, just say it.”
Gu Sheng leaned down and whispered a warning in her ear, “In the future, make it clear to people that you’re responsible for all the housework.”
Zhan Aiping: “…”
Gu Sheng stared at her without moving.
She reluctantly said, “Alright, alright, I’ll do it. I’ll handle all the housework from now on.”
Gu Sheng remained silent for a moment before saying, “I just wanted you to make it clear to people.”
Zhan Aiping: “…?”
Just to “say”?
She accurately grasped the point. If someone like him didn’t even have the confidence himself, did that mean she would have the chance to renew her experience card in the future? Was she going to suffer just to save face?
“Okay,” Zhan Aiping patted him on the chest with a smile. “In the future, when we visit your place, I’ll tell all the wives in the neighbourhood that I’m responsible for all the housework at home.”
“That’s not necessary,” Gu Sheng liked hearing her say “our home.” “If they don’t ask, there’s no need to proactively tell them.”
Telling everyone that she loved doing housework everywhere was just crazy, wasn’t it? Zhan Aiping wasn’t that domestic.
“If they ask you, then you can tell them that you do all the housework,” Gu Sheng continued.
Zhan Aiping nodded, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
Seeing her obediently nod, Gu Sheng was both surprised and oddly satisfied. His heart felt heavy and warm, like holding a pool of spring water. He thought, “Why does she sound so pleasing when she talks lately?” Even if it was just a façade, he found it particularly pleasant to hear her say, “I’ll listen to you.”
If she could be like this every day in front of him, not competing with him, he would gladly wash her clothes for a lifetime, not just once.
Gu Sheng: “…”
Comrade Xiao Gu, who realized his true thoughts, suddenly had a foreboding feeling that something was going to go wrong.
Zhan Aiping looked up at Gu Sheng’s face and noticed that he seemed lost in thought. She was curious about Battalion Commander Gu’s reputation in their regiment. Although she teased Gu Sheng as “Wu Jie,” (**Fifth Sister**) in reality, once you removed the youthful awkwardness, Gu Sheng had a very heroic and striking appearance. His thick and expressive eyebrows, high and straight nose, and his cold and stern demeanour when he was expressionless made him appear exceptionally severe and dignified, especially when he scolded He Mingzhang that day; he showed no trace of femininity.
His current physique is tall and well-built, with toned muscles. Whenever he gets close to her, his scorching body temperature gives her a sense of masculine and powerful aggression.
Ye Fangjing said he was handsome, but she dared not be with such a man.
“Brother-in-law is like a deadly weapon on display in a museum, no, no, an ancient knife, meant only for distant admiration, not to be trifled with.”
“Only you, Teacher Xiao Zhan, can conquer him.”
Ye Fangjing’s words were somewhat flattering to her, but today, seeing this “broken knife” diligently helping her tidy up the house and do the laundry, she indeed felt a sweet warmth in her heart.
Zhan Aiping lowered her eyes, smiled gently, and thought to herself, “Alright, I’ll be nicer to him in the future, at least in front of others.”
Her man, she should take care of him herself, and her “snail girl” should be treated with her own tenderness.
“Why…why are you laughing?” Seeing the smile on Zhan Aiping’s face, Gu Sheng’s heart trembled, and that ominous premonition grew stronger.
Zhan Aiping smiled even more gently and charmingly, “Am I not allowed to laugh?”
She tilted her face up to him, her brows and eyes curved, her smile shallow, her watery eyes staring into his, her red lips curled up, the corners of her eyes raised, her gaze seductive and lingering.
Zhan Aiping had always known that she had a very seductive and beautiful appearance, but she had never consciously unleashed her feminine charm like this before.
She always intentionally undermines the feelings of women around her.
But since he himself said she was his woman, she would be a “woman” by his side.
“You…” Gu Sheng’s gaze avoided her, and he seemed somewhat hesitant to meet her eyes directly. His cheeks grew slightly warm, and the ominous premonition in his heart reached its peak.
He coldly thought to himself: The enemy’s firepower is too strong; our army should retreat without hesitation.
—It’s better to find an exit strategy in advance.
However, even in a losing situation, there was no reason to raise the white flag directly.
He must strengthen the fighting capabilities of his side, not let her become too arrogant, be careful not to let her go overboard, and end up as a “coward” and the laughingstock of everyone.
He needed to regain his confidence in front of her, restore his dominance, and at the very least… save face.
He had to be prepared for any situation.
Fortunately, there was that guy Wang Youli, who was even more cowardly. The “theories” that came out of his mouth were readily available. If our side were to lose, he could use them directly and turn the tables, taking the initiative.
After formulating a comprehensive plan, Gu Sheng no longer felt anxious; he remained calm.
Although he was part of the singles’ squad, he had Wang Youli backing him up.
In the future, he would learn some “Wang Youli quotes” to have them in reserve.
Gu Sheng, with his handsome face and charming, deep, magnetic voice, gazed intently at people with his peach blossom eyes. He said, “Ping Ping, you look very beautiful when you smile. Please smile more often from now on.”
Zhan Aiping’s cheeks grew slightly warm. “…Okay.”
Suddenly, the man in front of her seemed like a magnificent peacock from Yunnan, continuously displaying its feathers, and continuously displaying its feathers.
What should she do when faced with such an evenly matched situation?
“Gu Sheng, why don’t you sit down for a moment? Let me take a look at your hand. We shouldn’t continue this peacock display contest; it will either end up in a fight, a fight or a fight.”
Zhan Aiping glanced at the bed stacked with tofu pieces and thought it would be better not to destroy it.
Gu Sheng asked, “You want to look at my hand?”
“You just said it yourself; I’m a mediocre doctor, but at least I can take a look at your hand.”
Gu Sheng replied, “If I don’t go to hell, who will? Come on, luckily it’s my left hand that’s injured.”
“My right hand still needs to be functional.”
Zhan Aiping chuckled, “There’s no need to be so generous about it.”
She took out the needle, sterilized it, and performed acupuncture on him to let this annoying guy see her skills.
While Zhan Aiping was needling him, she didn’t tease him anymore. Her expression was focused and serious, and Gu Sheng stared at her profile as she concentrated on needling his hand. Although the sight seemed a bit gruesome, he…
His left hand didn’t feel pain; instead, there was a strangely indescribable sense of comfort.
Could this mediocre doctor have some skills?
Gu Sheng asked, “What kind of needling technique is this?”
What kind of needling technique? Zhan Aiping thought to herself. This is the “Demonstration Needle Technique.”
“What?”
Zhan Aiping looked at him and smiled, “Have you ever heard of the Demonstration Sword Technique?”
Gu Sheng asked, “…What do you mean?”
Zhan Aiping said, “I’m blatantly mocking your poor marksmanship.”
In reality, Gu Sheng’s shooting skills were not bad, just not as good as hers.
—After all, anyone worse than her was trash.
“You can only brag about this much.” Gu Sheng propped his chin with his hand. “But that’s ancient history. How long has it been since you, a discharged female soldier, had some action? You should know, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Yeah, I might not have had action for a while, but you never had a chance to compete with me, so I’ll always be the winner,” Zhan Aiping winked at him and smiled triumphantly.
Old Gu remembered this incident in particular. When a battle royale game was released later on, he suddenly pulled her over, saying that he wanted to help his little sister (her) rank up.
In her youth, Zhan Aiping had better eyesight, but as they aged, Gu Sheng’s eyesight surpassed hers. Gu Sheng was quite proud of this fact, and when he started playing the game, he became a “Human Outline Master.”
Zhan Aiping was a bit better than him in the game, and she said, “You’ll always be a sharpshooter, and being a sharpshooter is all about feeling.”
Old Gu, however, was determined to improve his gaming marksmanship through rigorous practice, but he still couldn’t surpass her. Nevertheless, he had excellent tactical command skills. When the two of them teamed up, they were a formidable duo in the gaming world.
There were even esports teams interested in recruiting them, but they declined gracefully due to their age. At that time, they reminisced, “We were once the best partners back in our youth.”
But that was many, many, many years ago.
“Letting you win, not arguing with you over this,” the young Gu Sheng said in a carefree manner.
Zhan Aiping turned to look at him, thinking, “You’re such a ‘say one thing, mean another’ King.”
After she finished the acupuncture session, Zhan Aiping cleaned up the equipment. Gu Sheng sat in the room, looking around, watching Zhan Aiping move about the house. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and tranquillity.
In the future, the two of them would have a home together.
However, when he saw her about to pack up the so-called “hair-strengthening candy” for him, he realized that he should have left a long time ago.
They had said their goodbyes, but he had lingered until now.
Yet at this moment, he couldn’t bear to leave. He wanted to spend more time with her, even if it meant just making small talk or having his arm turned into a hedgehog by her acupuncture. As long as they were in the same room, it made him feel exceptionally content.
Gu Sheng stared at the neatly made bed, which he had tidied up in the morning with the bedsheets and blankets. He raised his hand to his forehead and said, “I think I might be a little dizzy from the needles.”
“I’ll take a break,” he added.
With that, he lay down on the bed.
Zhan Aiping sighed internally, “If only I could kick him off, but he’s too heavy.”
Gu Sheng only stubbornly stayed until evening before finally leaving. It was actually Zhan Aiping who considered keeping him around, but he insisted on leaving, fearing that he wouldn’t be able to control himself if he stayed any longer.
He told himself to take it slow.
Comrade Gu had not yet been intimate with a woman, even though the situation had progressed. In case she was not satisfied the first time and decided to leave, what would he do if she ran away? Other women wouldn’t dare to do such a thing, but she was definitely capable of it.
A little patience for a better plan – he couldn’t afford to let the cooked duck fly away. He would take his time and work things out on his own territory.
On his way back, Gu Sheng ran into Comrade Wang Youli. Wang Youli had spent the Chinese New Year with his relatives at Little Shen’s house a few days ago, and his days had been lively and different from Gu Sheng’s solitude.
Gu Sheng took out his “Party membership application” and waved it in front of Wang Youli, indicating that his marriage was not fake.
Wang Youli was genuinely surprised. “You got married?”
“Is there a reason for it to be fake?”
Wang Youli couldn’t help but envy him a little. Gu Sheng had made a latecomer’s triumph. Just like him, after coming to Shanghai, he had found a partner and even managed to get married before him.
Wang Youli deliberately lectured him, saying, “You should learn to be a good husband in the future.”
Gu Sheng responded lazily, “I won’t.”
“You stubborn man! Be careful your little sister divorces you!”
Wang Youli continued, “Your attitude and mindset are too improper, you…”
“Then you can wait to be disliked by your little sister and those sisters-in-law!”
Gu Sheng smiled and listened to him rambling on. Now, when Gu Sheng saw Wang Youli, he felt a strong sense of camaraderie. He was undoubtedly a great comrade, a good fellow.
It would be best if he became the role model for being a great husband in their community. Gu Sheng could reluctantly follow his example and learn from him.
After all, he was “forced” into this situation.
Wang Youli was satisfied with Gu Sheng’s response and, seeing his “not afraid of hot water even if it boils a dead pig” demeanor, he felt completely at ease.
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