Chapter 157: Asking for Another Day Off
"Then you sit in the living room for a bit; I'll go heat up some water for you to take a bath," Yuanhuan thought as he turned and walked into the kitchen to start heating the water for Xiuxiu.
The houses in the city couldn't compare to the convenience of military housing, where family residences now all had gas water heaters installed. But because of the high cost, they hadn't become widespread in some second-tier cities and among the general population yet. The house that Xiuxiu rented was quite nice in every other aspect, which made this the only thing that irritated her—having to patiently heat water for a bath after being tired as a dog was incredibly inconvenient.
"Okay." Xiuxiu nodded her head in the direction behind Yuanhuan where he couldn't see her, and then, remembering that he couldn't see her, she answered aloud.
Yuanhuan moved quickly, drawing water from the small well in the yard to heat. Xiuxiu was already somewhat sleepy, but being slightly O.C.D. about cleanliness, she still mustered the energy to prepare for a bath before sleeping. Meanwhile, Yuanhuan, out of consideration for Xiuxiu, made a blazing fire and even carefully adjusted the temperature after heating the water before carrying it to the bathroom for her. After being called by him, Xiuxiu immediately dragged herself into the washroom and took a hasty, blurry shower.
When Yuanhuan's lovingly made chicken soup noodles were ready, he turned and started waiting outside the bathroom door for Xiuxiu. After a short while, he noticed that there was no sound of showering from the bathroom and, feeling a rush of urgency, reached out to push open the door.
Creak! The door to the washroom easily swung open, revealing no sign of Xiuxiu inside. Yuanhuan furrowed his brow and turned toward the bedroom. Walking right in, he found Xiuxiu already curled up and fast asleep under the blankets. His anxiety subsided as he let out a helpless sigh, then he walked over without intending to wake her. After carefully covering her with the blanket, he quietly turned and left the bedroom.
Later, that serving of chicken soup noodles ended up in the stomachs of Jingjing and Song Chengguang. The aunt and nephew duo each had half, and, after consuming the noodles, returned to their rooms with hands on their waists, pretending to be stuffed to the brim.
By the time Yuanhuan had tidied up the kitchen and finished his own shower to go to bed, it was nearly dawn. He carefully climbed into bed and pulled Xiuxiu into his arms before falling asleep himself.
Xiuxiu slept soundly, but roused early for the first time due to hunger, before the wake-up call at the base sounded. Blinking her eyes in the dim morning light, she guessed it was still very early. She turned her head and saw Yuanhuan, still in deep sleep beside her—the first time she had awakened to find him still asleep. This peculiar feeling made her quite reluctant to disturb him, so she decided to quietly get up and prepare breakfast or go out to buy some snacks.
"Awake? Are you hungry, or do you need to use the bathroom?" Yuanhuan was always vigilant. Sleeping with Xiuxiu was one of the rare moments when he let his guard down, but he still snapped awake the moment Xiuxiu sat up in bed, his voice filled with concern, devoid of any raspiness or fatigue from sleep.
"I'm hungry," Xiuxiu confessed, biting her lower lip after seeing Yuanhuan awake. She wasn't deliberately making a fuss as a pregnant woman; her grumbling stomach truly woke her, and she had a sudden craving for pan-fried buns. She hadn't intended to wake Yuanhuan and was about to dress and head out for food, but he woke as soon as she got up.
"It's still early. Lie down and sleep a bit more; I'll go out and buy some breakfast for you." It was just breaking dawn outside, and the breakfast vendors should already be setting up their stalls.
Xiuxiu, unpretentious, even shamelessly made a request: "I'd like some pan-fried buns and tofu pudding."
"Mm." Yuanhuan wasn't the least bit annoyed. Nodding, he helped Xiuxiu lie down and even smoothed out the corner of the blanket before swiftly getting out of bed to get dressed.
Song Yuanhuan, being a military man, was remarkably fast at getting dressed and ready. In the blink of an eye, he had finished washing up and went out to buy breakfast.
Xu Xiuxiu lay in bed languidly, half asleep, salivating at the thought of soon eating fried buns and tofu pudding. The more she thought about it, the hungrier she got, and just when she was about to lose it, Song Yuanhuan finally returned with breakfast in hand.
"Fried buns." Xu Xiuxiu started drooling over them as soon as Song Yuanhuan entered the bedroom.
"Wash your face and brush your teeth first," Song Yuanhuan said, setting the breakfast aside and bringing in the hot water he had heated up on the stove before leaving, along with the wash supplies.
Xu Xiuxiu happily enjoyed Song Yuanhuan's careful attentiveness, and once she had washed up, she started enjoying the fried buns and tofu pudding. The morning sickness that would usually strike during her morning wash didn't occur, and seeing this, Song Yuanhuan, who was holding the wash supplies, also breathed a sigh of relief.
After eating her fill and drinking a lot, Xu Xiuxiu started to feel sleepy again.
She was quite aware that she was living a pig-like life of eating and sleeping, but she couldn't help herself. She always felt that her normally decent willpower crumbled layer by layer in the face of Song Yuanhuan's pampering—there was just no way around it.
"Yuanhuan, you go back to the military base first! Si Ya hasn't had the chance to explore Z city, and I'm thinking of taking her to the nearby park for a walk today," Xu Xiuxiu spoke to Song Yuanhuan before falling asleep. She knew that Song Yuanhuan had only taken one day off, and she didn't know when she might wake up after sleeping, so it was better to tell him first.
"Mhm," Song Yuanhuan hummed in acknowledgment.
After hearing his response, Xu Xiuxiu fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up until noon. Blinking her eyes and recalling the conversation she had with Song Yuanhuan before sleeping, she guessed that Song Yuanhuan must have returned to the base. So she stretched, getting out of bed to prepare lunch. She hadn't been disturbed all morning and wondered what Xu Jingjing and Cheng Guang were doing?
Thinking this, Xu Xiuxiu walked into the living room, only to find that there was already a portion of meat and two portions of vegetables set on the dining table. When she turned to look towards the kitchen, she saw the handsome figure of Song Yuanhuan cooking.
"Why didn't you go back to the base?" Xu Xiuxiu asked, quite surprised as she walked into the kitchen. At the same time, she poured hot water out of the kettle into the basin, preparing to mix in some cold water to wash up.
"Mhm, I was worried about you," Song Yuanhuan replied, while he ladled out the steaming, fragrant clam and tofu soup.
"Did you take another day off?" Xu Xiuxiu asked as she finished mixing the hot water, finding Song Yuanhuan's brief response of acknowledgment a bit too succinct.