Qin Xue stepped into the house and saw that the table was already being set. Instead of sitting down like a guest, she immediately headed for the kitchen. Fang Hong saw her and waved a ladle.
"Qin Xue, go sit! I’m just filling the soup bowl and then we’re ready."
"Let me help with the small things, Sister-in-law," Qin Xue insisted.
Seeing that the heavy cooking was done, she gathered the bowls and chopsticks and brought them to the table.
Xie Jun set aside his newspaper and gestured to a chair. "Come, sit down. It’s time to eat."
Qin Xue sat across from the couple, giving them space to sit together. As she waited, she scanned their home. The layout was identical to her own, but while Fang Hong had many belongings, everything was in its proper place—neat, clean, and organized. It was the home of a woman who took pride in her surroundings.
I really need to fix my own place, Qin Xue thought, feeling a twinge of shame. I had to give myself a pep talk just to lie down in that mess earlier. I’ll start cleaning as soon as dinner is over.
"Oh, don't just sit there! The food will get cold," Fang Hong said, placing a steaming tureen of soup on the table. "Lao Xie, make sure Qin Xue eats plenty."
The spread was impressive for the 1980s: stir-fried greens, radish with meat, pickled vegetables, and a tomato and egg soup. Qin Xue knew this was a lavish meal for the time, likely prepared specifically to help her recover.
She took a sip of the soup and smiled. "Sister-in-law, your cooking is wonderful. This soup is so fragrant."
"Then have another bowl! You’ve lost so much blood; you need the nourishment." Fang Hong beamed, piling pieces of meat into Qin Xue’s bowl before turning to look after her husband.
Qin Xue watched the quiet affection between the two. Xie Jun subtly moved the best cuts of meat from his bowl into Fang Hong’s, and they exchanged a look of genuine warmth.
Seeing a happy marriage up close made Qin Xue wonder about her own. Could I ever have something like this with Chu Molin? she wondered.
After finishing the meal and helping Fang Hong clear the table, Qin Xue thanked them and headed back to her own apartment.
Once she was gone, Fang Hong finished tidying the kitchen and brought a glass of water to her husband. "Lao Xie, don't you think Qin Xue has changed completely?"
Xie Jun took a sip of water and nodded. "She did well today. Very polite. If she stays like this, Chu Molin might finally be able to work without constant worrying."
He felt a pang of sympathy for Chu Molin. As a section chief, Xie Jun usually had to encourage couples to stay together, even when things were rocky. It was hard enough for the men at the institute to find wives; he couldn't just advise a divorce unless something illegal happened. He was just relieved that Qin Xue seemed to have turned a leaf after her injury. It meant one less distraction for his best researcher.
Xie Jun set down his glass and looked at his wife with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Honey, come take a nap with me?"
"I'm not sleeping," Fang Hong laughed, trying to stand up. "I've been at the hospital for days. There's a mountain of laundry to do, and I promised to help Qin Xue clean her house tomorrow."
Xie Jun wasn't about to let her go that easily. He hadn't had his wife home for days and he had the dark circles under his eyes to prove it.
With a quick movement, he pulled her into his lap.
"What are you doing? Let go!" Fang Hong protested, though she couldn't help but smile as she struggled against his embrace. "I have work to do!"
______
Xie Jun wasn't about to let his wife escape to do chores. He swept Fang Hong up in a "princess carry," ignoring her protests.
"Be good and sleep for a while," he said firmly. "You have dark circles under your eyes."
He carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed. After shedding his work jacket, he lay down beside her, pulling her into his arms for an afternoon nap. Fang Hong struggled for a moment but eventually gave in; she was truly exhausted. Nestling her head on his arm, she closed her eyes, but her mind was still racing.
"Old Xie," she whispered, "when will Chu Molin and the others be back? Qin Xue was in such a dangerous state this time. She was in a coma for days—the doctors thought she’d be a vegetable. And she’s pregnant! I was so worried. I wonder how Chu Molin will react when he finds out he’s going to be a father?"
Xie Jun looked down at her moving lips and playfully covered her mouth with his hand. "I told you to rest, yet here you are talking about other men." He was jokingly jealous; he wanted her focus entirely on him.
The two of them had been childhood sweethearts. Though they grew up in modest city families, Xie Jun’s hard work in research and Fang Hong’s steady support had built them a beautiful life. Even after ten years of marriage and a child in junior high, they were as close as ever. Xie Jun viewed Chu Molin as a younger brother—he had mentored him since day one. He truly hoped Chu Molin and Qin Xue could find the same happiness he had with Fang Hong.
Finally, the house grew quiet as they drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, back at her own apartment, Qin Xue was finally tackling the mess. She was ruthless—trash was tossed out, and anything worth keeping was scrubbed clean. She hauled a basin of soapy water from the bathroom and wiped down the grime until the kitchen and living room sparkled.
When she reached the bedroom, she looked at the pile of clothes on the bed and winced. "What on earth was she thinking?" she muttered. The outfits were loud, clashing, and gaudy. Even though they were high-quality—likely bought by Chu Molin to appease her—Qin Xue couldn't imagine wearing them. She folded them neatly, deciding to store them away until she could replace them with something more her style.
As she organized the desk drawers, she hit a snag: her finances. She found exactly sixty-eight yuan. While that was a decent sum in the 1980s, it wasn't much for a pregnant woman starting from scratch.
Fang Hong paid for my hospital stay, Qin Xue realized. If I pay her back tomorrow, I’ll probably only have about twenty-eight yuan left. What can I do with twenty yuan? I don't even know when my 'cheap husband' is coming back.
She knew she couldn't just sit around. She needed to find a way to make money, but being pregnant and new to the era made things difficult.
She didn't dare touch Chu Molin's personal belongings to look for more cash; that felt like crossing a line.
Exhausted by the cleaning and the mental math, she lay back on the bed to think and accidentally fell into a deep sleep. By the time she opened her eyes again, the sun was already setting, casting long, orange shadows across her newly cleaned room.
_______
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Comments
📰📜Pɧ§ÍMÎŚŤ ŘËÂĐÉŘ📖📚
excuse me ,don't u have a sense of self awareness 😫...like dude u know he had feelings for that su yun and still thinking of guture ...firstly drugged him and trapped him in an unwanted marriage and now thinking of a future just bcoz now the child us between u two(previous qin xue) ..I mean girl u have to first think of ur own future and independence rather than again thinking if trapping a man ...where the hell is ur self respect dude ...I agree the mess was done by the past qin xue but u will be the one to take burns for it ...so plzz zlay low think for urself and ur child first then think anout love and blah blah ....
2026-04-03
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