Reborn as a Tough Army Wife

As Fang Xiu and the others walked into the house, Gao Sheng handed Fang Pingying two boxes and said with a smile, "Sister Ping Ying, I didn't know what to get when coming over, so I just bought clothes for Yaoyao and Ruirui, one for each. Please check if they fit. If not, you can exchange them at the store."

Seeing that the items weren't anything particularly expensive, Fang Pingying accepted them with a smile, "No need to be so courteous."

The family chatted in the living room for a bit, and when Li Yuchun glanced at the clock and saw it was almost nine o'clock, she hurriedly called out to Fang Pingying, "Pingying, we need to go buy groceries, it's getting late."

Fang Pingying had almost forgotten the time herself, she quickly stood up, instructing Fang Xiu to fetch the grocery basket from the kitchen as she stood up and said to Luo Zhiyong and Fang Ping'an, "Perfect, you and Dad can entertain the guests at home. Let Mom and Uncle Zhao watch the kids, we're going to get groceries."

Luo Zhiyong nodded and reminded her, "If you can't carry everything back, just call home and I'll come help you carry the bags."

Fang Pingying nodded, called out to Li Yuchun, Luo Honglan, and Fang Xiu, "Alright, let's go now. We have to cook after getting back from grocery shopping; I'm afraid we won't have enough time."

While they walked to the market, Fang Pingying noticed that Fang Xiu was silent and not particularly happy, just as she was at the doorstep earlier.

Fang Pingying asked curiously, "What's wrong, did you not sleep well last night?"

"Big sister, I..." Fang Xiu began, looking up at Li Yuchun before trailing off without finishing her sentence.

Li Yuchun, seeing no outsiders around, didn't hold back. She glared at Fang Xiu and complained, "What are you talking about? I think Gao Sheng is a good man, and since you two have been in touch for so long, he even brought up the topic of marriage with me today, and I agreed. So what?"

Fang Pingying was taken aback and puzzled, "What's going on, what marriage?"

Fang Xiu explained to Fang Pingying in a soft voice, "Big sister, Gao Sheng came to our house early this morning, then during the conversation with Mom and Dad, he mentioned the subject of marriage. They agreed without even considering if I was against it."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuchun immediately chimed in, "Why wouldn't they agree? Gao Sheng is handsome and a teacher. Although it's his second marriage and he has no children, he doesn't mind you, and if you were to marry him, imagine how easy life would be."

Then, Li Yuchun continued rambling on, mixing complaints about Fang Xiu being ungrateful.

Fang Xiu got annoyed and snapped at Li Yuchun, "All you care about is that Gao Sheng is wealthy and has a good job. If he were like the past Luo Zhiming who had nothing, I doubt you'd agree so readily."

At the mention of Luo Zhiming, Li Yuchun also got angry, poking Fang Xiu on the forehead and scolding her, "You have the nerve to bring up Luo Zhiming? If it weren't for your own misjudgment, getting involved with Luo Zhiming before marriage, would you be in this situation now?"

Fang Xiu was angered too and retorted, "Why do you keep dwelling on the past? Hasn't it all passed? Didn't you like Luo Zhiming very much before too? Now you blame me..."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing on the street, Fang Pingying stepped into the middle and shouted at them, "Hold on, don't fight."

After stopping them, Fang Pingying looked at Fang Xiu, "Xiu'er, are you saying that you don't want to marry Gao Sheng?"

Fang Xiu nodded honestly, "Yeah."

"Why?"

"I..." Fang Xiu frowned and then said, "I don't think I deserve him, and he doesn't like me that much either. He just wants to find a wife, and thinks I fit what he's looking for in all aspects, so he proposed marriage."

"That's it, you lack a man, he lacks a wife, it seems right for the two of you to come together." Li Yuchun couldn't help but interject again, "I don't see anything wrong with this. Isn't this how everyone does it?"

"Mom..." Fang Xiu called out helplessly.

Seeing that they were about to quarrel again, Fang Pingying decided to separate them and said to Li Yuchun and Luo Honglan, "Mom, you and Honglan go over there, buy some meat and other foodstuffs. Xiu'er and I will go this way to get some vegetables and fruit."

Li Yuchun knew Fang Pingying's intentions and nodded, whispering to her, "You should also persuade her. She's not getting any younger, and she has a son to take care of. Having such a good man who doesn't dismiss her is not bad at all. She should stop being so picky. Your father and I are getting old, we won't be able to accompany her much longer, and sooner or later she needs to find a man."

Fang Pingying nodded, "I know, you guys go ahead and get the goods."

Once Li Yuchun and the others left, Fang Pingying took Fang Xiu to a quieter spot and asked her, "Xiu'er, tell me the truth, why don't you like Gao Sheng?"

Fang Xiu noticed that Fang Pingying asked why she didn't 'like' rather than why she didn't want to 'marry'.

She looked up at Fang Pingying, bit her lip, and ultimately shook her head without speaking.

"Xiu'er, it's just us sisters here, is there anything you can't say?" Seeing Fang Xiu hesitate, Fang Pingying purposefully provoked her, "It seems you really don't like Gao Sheng, there must be a reason."

Fang Xiu seemed ready to speak with determination, but then suddenly she seemed to lose heart, her head drooping and not willing to continue.

Seeing this, Fang Pingying ran out of patience to beat around the bush and directly confronted her thoughts, "For instance, do you have someone else in your heart?"

Upon Fang Pingying's words, the image of Zhou Guangsheng's gaze flashed in Fang Xiu's mind, making her heart skip a beat.

And it wasn't just now; ever since that day at Fang Pingying's house, whenever she had a quiet moment, she often recalled the way Zhou Guangsheng looked at her.

The look in his eyes gave her a flutter she had never experienced, even when she first got together with Luo Zhiming.

She knew Zhou Guangsheng must have a favorable impression of her, perhaps even feeling a bit of affection for her, just like she did for him.

But Fang Xiu also carried the same worry as Luo Zhiyong and the others; if she and Zhou Guangsheng really got together, she would inevitably have to think clearly about Haohao's identity and how to explain it to Zhou Guangsheng.

For some reason, when she thought she would end up with Gao Sheng, Fang Xiu never considered this issue, as if mentioning it or not didn't matter, as if it wasn't a problem at all. If Gao Sheng could accept it, then great; if not, she wouldn't be together with him.

But the thought of disclosing her past foolishness to Zhou Guangsheng made Fang Xiu feel deeply ashamed.

She had never before regretted her past actions as profoundly as she did these past few days, not even when the Luo Family found out the child in her belly might not be Luo Zhiming's. She was scared and panicked then, but had never felt such true regret.

If time could be reversed, no matter how tough life was, she would never make such a choice again.