Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 140 - 139: Shocked, but no joy at all

Chapter 140: Chapter 139: Shocked, but no joy at all

The most enjoyable thing is surely the leisure time after having a full meal and finishing your work.

Old smokers lean back in their chairs, puffing away contentedly, single dogs like Ge You sprawl on the sofa hugging their phones in bliss, housewives turn on the TV to binge-watch dramas...Oh, or perhaps they’re teaching little brats to do their homework; that part is not enjoyable at all.

But couples... Ahem!

After hugging and chatting in the kitchen for a while, He Fang’s heart felt soft and tingling, partially longing to linger in those moments.

A life that she should have experienced many years later was now within reach.

So satisfying.

She hugged Qin Guanglin tightly in his embrace, and only unwillingly let go, turned off the kitchen light and went to the living room to sit on the sofa and drink water with a cup in her hand.

"Why are you sitting down again?" Qin Guanglin was still thinking about the mystery surprise, leaning on the sofa and urging, "Go check out your surprise on that side."

Wondering what it could be...

"You’re that eager to see it?" He Fang started smiling at him.

"Uh..."

Qin Guanglin suddenly had a bad premonition, her smile making him feel uneasy, and he hesitated.

It didn’t seem very promising.

"Okay then, let’s go for a walk, and then head to my place," He Fang put down her cup, stood up, and took his hand to walk outside.

The night had just fallen, and it was not completely dark yet. Occasionally, they would greet a neighbor or two on the street, and Qin Guanglin naturally held He Fang’s hand and nodded in response.

After the novelty wore off, the neighbors weren’t as gossip-hungry as they were at first; at most, they might bring them up during casual chats, mentioning how someone got a pretty decent girlfriend, they saw them running together the other day/Qin’s girlfriend went to his house again/that girl’s pretty good-looking, Qin’s really got something going on...

A gentle breeze wafted through the evening as they slowly walked down the street, conversing sporadically.

"I was really surprised when he said we’d split fifty-fifty, because I was just working a job; it’s normal to have a performance bonus on top of the wage, and if there’s a hit work, sharing five or ten percent of the profit... A hit would mean even just five percent is a considerable amount."

"Now it’s not even finished, and he’s set down this fifty-fifty deal. If it flops later on, I’d still earn this bit of wage, and I’m not losing anything. If it has some success, though... Geez, why would he make that decision?"

Qin Guanglin shared his work concerns with He Fang. He couldn’t quite understand this issue; it was like giving money away for nothing.

"Subtracting operational costs and such... There’s a lot of room for maneuvers there; isn’t it up to him to decide how much the costs are?" He Fang suggested a possibility.

"I don’t think it would be that way." Qin Guanglin had already considered this possibility, "If so, why wouldn’t he just not bring up the split and do underhanded things in secret? Isn’t that just troublesome?"

"It could make you work harder."

"Is it worth that?"

"It’s very worth it," He Fang firmly nodded, "You can’t imagine how dark the hearts of capitalists are. I saw a news story about a boss who poured powder ground from poppy shells into the central air conditioning system to get his employees to work overtime voluntarily..."

"Sounds like one of those shocking news stories, right? That’s so exaggerated."

Qin Guanglin shook his head, laughing, and steered the conversation back on track: "Anyway, I have nothing to lose. If I enjoy the drawing, I’ll draw; if not, I’ll quit... But he seems like a nice guy, just a bit chuunibyo, chasing dreams... Geez."

"This comic is different from what I drew before. Before, it was a one-off transaction, a clear price for each drawing. A comic sits on a platform, earning steadily over time, month after month, or even year after year. As long as it’s not taken down, it keeps generating income. Even if this one fails, if I keep drawing and one work breaks through, it’ll also bring some attention to the others..."

He continued talking and pulled out a candy, unwrapped it, popped it into He Fang’s mouth, and then continued: "It’s all uncertain for now; we’ll have to see how it goes. Knowledge is mine, so mastering these skills means I can go anywhere later. I’ll just do my job well. Whether or not what he said happens, it doesn’t matter. If it happens, great; if not, fine too. I never expected to earn much when I first started working."

"Your mindset is really good." He Fang sucked on the candy and tilted her head back, "Do you want to kiss me? It’s sweet right now."

Qin Guanglin looked around, noticing not many people were nearby, leaned down and gave her a peck, "You’re always sweet."

"It’s even sweeter now."

He Fang, satisfied, linked arms with him and turned onto South Fly Road, "I think you should just focus on drawing. Working a job is never as free as staying at home. Imagine if you become a famous artist later, having your own exhibitions...Just thinking about it is impressive..."

She stopped in her tracks, turned her head to Qin Guanglin, and raised an eyebrow, "And there will be a bunch of female fans chasing you for autographs; isn’t that exciting?"

"Female fans..." Qin Guanglin was speechless, "No matter the drawing, it’s still drawing. Maybe by then, I’ll have drawn something like One-Punch Man... Ha, you can be a rich housewife at home then."

He chuckled, "and then I’ll buy a few buildings, and you can be just like that landlady auntie, shuffling around in flip-flops collecting rent every day... No, wait, you like teaching. I’ll build you a school so you can be the principal. How about that?"

"Sure, I’ll be the principal, and you can still be the student. I’ll look out the window at you every day." He Fang put on a stern face, imitating the class teacher outside the window, staring at Qin Guanglin, "Classmate Qin..."

"Oh no... don’t do that." Qin Guanglin jumped with a start, her expression was about eighty percent similar to the class teacher’s outside.

Could this be talent?

Ugh, it seems not just anyone can be a teacher.

They had reached downstairs during their conversation when Qin Guanglin suddenly felt a surge of anticipation, "Come on, let’s go up and see your mysterious surprise."

"Surprise?" He Fang grasped his arm without moving, standing in the doorway with a sly grin.

"Huh?"

"Ta-da!"

He Fang pulled out a key and sat down on a bicycle next to the stairwell, "From now on, when you run, I’ll ride the bike and supervise you. Surprised or not? Expecting it?"

"..."

"..."

Qin Guanglin looked a bit disheveled at her smugness.

Mysterious surprise?

It was certainly mysterious enough.

And yes, it was surprising enough.

But what kind of joy is this? What’s there to be happy about?!

"You don’t look too happy," He Fang laughed as she sat on the bicycle seat, "Too surprised?"

"I’m surprised, all right," Qin Guanglin grumbled, ready to drag her upstairs. "Happy my ass. You went and bought a bike to supervise me, got me all excited for nothing. I’m not running anymore."

"You have to run."

He Fang shook off his hand and bent down to unlock the bike, "Considering I couldn’t run with you when ’Aunt Flo’ visits, I bought this bike to keep you company. See how good I am to you?"

"I refuse. Not running." Qin Guanglin pouted, sitting to one side, "All that anticipation for nothing."

"Come on, you can’t give up halfway."

"Not running."

"Be good. After walking all this way, you’ve digested your food; it’s time to run," He Fang came over to pull him, trying to get him up from the ground.

"I said, not running." Qin Guanglin sat unmoved.

"Are you running or not?" He Fang frowned.

"I’m not running."

"I’ll ask one more time, are you going to run?"

"Um..."

Qin Guanglin glanced at her, feeling hesitant, remembering the conversation he had with Sun Wen at noon.

Could this be their first ever argument?

It’s true that during ’that time of the month,’ it’s easy to get annoyed...

"Whether you like it or not, you’re going to run today," she insisted.

"What if I say no?" Qin Guanglin asked tentatively.