Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 150 - 148: In His Place

Chapter 150: Chapter 148: In His Place

Qin Guanglin had always thought his physique wouldn’t allow for weight gain, having had a hearty appetite all his life without it affecting his well-balanced figure.

Now, he was starting to doubt himself.

Teacher He’s cooking was just too delicious, not in the same way a gourmet chef’s would be, but in a way that couldn’t be described... He always ended up eating more than he could handle.

"Why is your cooking so delicious?" Qin Guanglin marveled as he picked at a rib.

He used to think he was picky, favoring vegetables over meat, but that was hardly being picky.

That was about choosing the right person.

Man, so tasty.

"Eat more if it’s good."

He Fang scooped some rice from her bowl into his, "Eat it all up."

"We could eat the leftovers tonight."

"We’ll make fresh dishes tonight."

"Alright then." Qin Guanglin didn’t mind eating leftovers for dinner, but fresh food was, of course, better.

Bowing his head, he shoveled a few more spoonfuls of rice into his mouth and chewed while looking at He Fang. Suddenly, a light bulb went off, "I know why it’s so tasty!"

"Why?" He Fang propped her chin on her hand as she watched him eat.

"Because you made it."

"Enough with the bootlicking, isn’t it tiring?"

"It’s not bootlicking, it’s scientifically sound," Qin Guanglin earnestly explained. "Look at this rib, hmm so good..." He showed her a piece before tossing it into his mouth to savor a bit more.

"Nonsense, of course, it’s good."

"I haven’t finished yet."

Qin Guanglin spat out the bone and swallowed the meat before continuing, "Though it’s tasty, it’s normally just mediocre tasty, not as delicious as it is now..."

"Are you reciting a tongue twister? Hurry up and finish your meal." He Fang couldn’t be bothered with him.

Good food is simply good food – why all the unnecessary complications? The sole answer is that with practice, food naturally gets better.

"Fine, I won’t tell you then." Qin Guanglin paused, deciding not to share his "scientific basis" with her.

From prepping the ingredients to the meal being ready, he had stood by her the whole time, watching He Fang bustle about. Her apron and the beads of sweat on her forehead all added flavor to the meal.

It was a psychological effect, but the taste it added was very real. If there was a word to describe it, it should be ’happiness.’

Yes, this ’happiness’ felt more like a spice than just a feeling.

Without all this, and just ordering a bunch of take-out instead, even if the takeout tasted exactly the same as the meal he was eating, it would feel much less satisfying.

"I love you." Qin Guanglin suddenly professed with a bowl in hand, the rice barely swallowed.

"No, you love the dishes I cook." He Fang kept her chin propped up as she looked at him, "Otherwise, why would you wait until you’ve almost finished eating to say it?"

"... Then I’ll continue after I finish eating."

He Fang pursed her lips and looked away, stealing a couple of giggles before turning back to him with a serious face, "Eat up."

That’s the beauty of being in a fresh relationship, never knowing when a surprise declaration of love would come and make you feel both excited and satisfied.

Long-married couples couldn’t know this feeling, what a mess of a marriage.

After finishing the last of the rice He Fang had put into his bowl and cleaning up the remaining ribs and okra, Qin Guanglin plopped down on the couch, too full to want to move.

"Ah, I’m so full." He pulled He Fang over, placing her hand on his stomach, "Feel how round it is?"

"Yeah, almost like you’re pregnant."

"Don’t poke, you’ll hurt the baby," Qin Guanglin complained, pulling her hand away, "You’re not allowed to touch anymore."

"Alright, just sit there, I’m going to wash the dishes."

He Fang laughed and gave his belly another pat before standing up to collect the dishes and take them to the kitchen, where she turned on the faucet and started rinsing them.

Initially, the two had agreed that she would cook and he would do the dishes, but as Qin Guanglin ended up overstuffed every time, He Fang let it slide without making him lift a finger anymore.

Anyway, these sort of things are all the same no matter who deals with them, no need to be so picky.

Qin Guanglin leaned back on the couch, rubbing his belly, and turned his head to look at her bustling figure in the kitchen, gently calling out, "Teacher He."

"What?"

"I love you."

"..."

He wore a smug look, "Now you can’t say I love the food you make, right?"

"Pfft, character."

He Fang snorted, but couldn’t help laughing soon after, "Alright, I know, don’t keep saying it."

"As long as you know." Qin Guanglin chuckled, picked up a book beside him, and flipped through it at random, "What do you think the baby in my belly should be named when it’s born? Would it be grander to choose from ’The Book of Changes’?"

"Wait until you give birth to the baby first."

"It’ll be too late if we wait until after the baby is born. Let’s give it a name now... Tch, we don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl; we should think of one for each." He flipped through the book, couldn’t understand a thing, and finally put it down helplessly, "No good, I can’t come up with anything; we will have to rely on you."

"What names could you come up with? Just focus on taking care of yourself."

"Alright, I’ll leave it to you."

Qin Guanglin patted his belly as if there really was a child inside, picked up the book again and mumbled, "I’ll give some early education. Didn’t you say this is all about principles? When the baby is born, it will surely be smart, even smarter than you." He randomly turned to a page, cleared his throat, and read aloud, "Upper Nine, ’Jin Qi Jiao’, I don’t recognize this character. Wei Yong Fa... Li, auspicious, no blame, firm frugality... What is all this nonsense?"

He recognized each word individually, but combined they made no sense.

"Switch to a novel." He Fang couldn’t be bothered with him, a painter who could understand would be a surprise.

She couldn’t understand it either.

"Your teachers are really mean, making you struggle with this stuff in your sophomore year." Qin Guanglin clicked his tongue, threw the book aside, and didn’t want to touch it again, "What’s all this principle about? Did you get it at that time?"

"Plenty of it, and everyone perceives it differently."

"For example?"

"Life doesn’t stop, striving doesn’t end."

"That’s it?" Qin Guanglin almost laughed out loud, "I know that too."

"That was Zhou Nan’s summary at that time, she wrote pages and pages about it, totaling tens of thousands of words." He Fang pursed her lips, "Don’t underestimate us literature students, we can talk your ear off with a single sentence."

"What about yours?"

Qin Guanglin didn’t care how many words her roommate had written, "With your smarts, what principles did you uncover?"

"One should handle his or her duties."

"Isn’t that attributed to somebody? I remember it’s from ancient texts..."

"Confucius said, ’If not in his proper position, he should not lay his plans.’ What I’m saying is, ’One should handle his or her duties.’" He Fang chuckled, "I’m talking about taking action."

"What kind of actions? You want to be an official?"

"What official? It’s a philosophy of life."

She finished washing the dishes, wiped the stove with a cloth, dried her hands, and came to sit on the couch, flipping open the book, "Teacher He will give you a lesson today. Look here, ’Chu Jiu’, ’Jiu Er’, ’Jiu San’, they all refer to positions. There’s a term here called ’prosperous position’, 1, 3, and 5 are yang lines, yang in a yang position is called ’prosperous position’, and in a yin position, it’s called ’inappropriate position’. Being in the right position means good fortune, while being in the wrong position means misfortune..."

"Stop, stop, tell me something I can understand." Qin Guanglin had a confused face, "Why are you bringing good and bad luck into this? I thought these texts were not for divining?"

"Good and bad luck are just symbols, not divination, you’re really daft." He Fang tapped his forehead, "Fine, too complicated for you to understand. To put it simply, it means to understand your own position, clear up your role, and then do what you should do, that’s it."

"And then?"

"There’s no ’and then’, that’s ’handling one’s duties’. For example, when I was a student, I should study hard; after graduating and becoming a teacher, I should teach students well; at home, I should be a good daugh... no, a good daughter and do what a daughter should do; being with you, I should be a good girlfriend and do what a girlfriend should do, then everything will be lucky and prosperous."

He Fang smiled and pecked his cheek, "Got it now?"

"Did you just think of being a good wife?" Qin Guanglin keenly caught the key point.

"You haven’t married me yet, how can I be a wife?" Her smile was unchanged as she playfully flicked Qin Guanglin’s lips, "You should also do what a boyfriend should do."

"What should I do?"

"Kiss me," He Fang pointed towards the bedroom, "Then carry me inside and blow the air... Hmm."