She Lives without Regret in This Life

"No, this won't do. Okay, let go of me, it's time to get up and eat."

"I won't let go." Sheng Ningyi pressed her down, "I really can't take it anymore, please!" She looked at him with pitiful eyes, "Can you spare me this once?"

"Can't take it anymore? Begging for mercy?"

"Mm-hm... exactly, exactly."

A satisfied smile crept across his face, "Do you still remember what I told you before we got married?"

Sheng Ning remembered, and her face grew even redder. Before they were married, she took advantage of the fact that he wouldn't dare to 'eat' her, teasing him relentlessly until he could hardly restrain himself.

So he was just getting back at her now—what a petty man.

There was a small table in the living room, and ever since Xu Qigang's pretended drunkenness was exposed, he wouldn't let Sheng Ning do any chores. He led her to sit down and took it upon himself to serve the dumplings.

"Delicious!" Xu Qigang wasn't a man who lived for eating; after all, he once had to survive on compressed biscuits for half a year during a mission.

If he had been, he would've been miserable long ago, but the dumplings that Sheng Ning made won his endless praise.

"Eat more, eat more." Seeing him enjoy the food made her happier than anything else.

"What's the filling in this one?" Xu Qigang picked up a dumpling with mixed filling and asked, "I don't think I've had this before."

"Mixed, it's made with a combination of various ingredients."

"My wife is so capable." Xu Qigang wasn't one for sweet nothings, but his occasional praise made her blush profusely.

The dumplings weren't large, yet Xu Qigang managed to pack away more than fifty of them, leaving Sheng Ning wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Wife, do you want to go out for a walk? I can also show you around the neighborhood."

"I'm already familiar from the training I did here before."

"You were familiar with it before?" Xu Qigang's logic was meticulous, and he quickly grasped the significance. "When you came for training, why did you get to know the dormitory area and the residential area so well?"

"None of your business!" Her little secret exposed, she adamantly denied it. "Hurry up, if we don't go out now, it will be too late."

After tidying up the house, Sheng Ning put on her coat, and the young couple stepped out. As they left their home, the neighbors began opening their doors, some of which had been left ajar since the afternoon.

Xu Qigang swept his sharp gaze around the neighborhood, then everything clicked for him.

Oblivious Sheng Ning couldn't figure out what was happening and curiously remarked, "It's so cold, why aren't they closing their doors? All the heat from their homes is escaping."

"They're not afraid of the cold!" If it weren't for New Year's Day, he would have made these idle folks go up the mountain for night training.

Descending the stairs, they passed by Captain Li Duoxi's place, where Xing Fang had been eagerly waiting. Seeing the couple, she didn't dare look at Xu Qigang but mustered up the courage to greet Sheng Ning.

"Sister-in-law, have you eaten yet? Come in and sit for a while."

"No need, we're just heading out for a walk."

"Alright, take care, Sister-in-law!"

The warmth of Xing Fang's greeting took Sheng Ning aback, and it wasn't until they left the residential area that she finally realized what was going on.

"Did they leave their doors open just to watch us?"

Xu Qigang ruffled her hair, "You're just realizing this now."

"I had no idea they'd be so nosy." Sheng Ning had to hand it to them; they'd rather freeze than miss an extra glimpse of her. She had been here before, why were they so curious?

"When you were here before, you were just a new comrade in training, but now you're my, Xu Qigang's wife, of course it's different." They chatted while walking on.