Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 182 - 179: Transformation

Chapter 182: Chapter 179: Transformation

Time isn’t a straight line moving at a constant speed; it hastens or slows, zipping by during happy moments and dragging like an old donkey milling grain when we’re sad.

The 16th of July arrived in the blink of an eye.

The weather gods were favorable, with cloudier skies offering a much cooler temperature than usual, without the gloomy oppression.

Qin Guanglin came downstairs to the company building, a hefty backpack on his shoulders, holding He Fang’s hand, while Chen Rui had already arranged for the vehicle for their trip to Chou Mountain, waiting for everyone to gather.

Chou Mountain wasn’t far; just over two hours’ drive from the downtown area. It wouldn’t be much trouble for everyone to get there individually, but with Chen Rui’s comprehensive planning of a ride there and back, they had no complaints.

"I thought we came early, but it turns out we’re pretty late."

Seeing most of his co-workers already downstairs, Qin Guanglin greeted them with a smile and briefly introduced He Fang. After placing his backpack in the car, he watched Chen Rui tally up the names.

"You’re not late. There are still two people missing," Chen Rui scribbled on his pad, then glanced up at Qin Guanglin and He Fang standing beside him. Shaking his head with a smile, he said, "Good thing I thought ahead and rented a mid-sized van, or we wouldn’t all fit. I had originally thought there’d be only two or three with family members, but looking now..."

He glanced back, "Everyone’s got a partner; you all kept it quite hidden."

"Hey, you’re all here, just waiting on us, right?"

Sun Wen’s booming voice resonated, arriving almost immediately after Qin Guanglin, who turned to see, surprised to find him accompanied by a girl.

Of average height with long hair over her shoulders and delicate features, she looked somewhat familiar. It took him a moment to recall that Sun Wen had shared a photo with this girl in the group chat – Yueyue, his ex-girlfriend.

Since their night of conversation, Sun Wen hadn’t brought up the workshop again. It was as if nothing had happened, life continuing as usual, except for the occasional cheerful updates about winning back his ex-girlfriend. Qin Guanglin hadn’t expected a reconciliation so soon.

"Alright, we’re just waiting on one more person..." Chen Rui was marking his list when Jiang Lingling came running around the corner, "Here I am, here I am, sorry I’m late."

Approaching, she went to greet Qin Guanglin out of habit but halted abruptly when she saw He Fang beside him, slowing down.

Seeing He Fang watching her, Jiang Lingling’s gaze darted away briefly, but then, feeling guilty, she forced her eyes back, only to find that He Fang had already looked up to speak with Qin Guanglin.

"What’s wrong?" Qin Guanglin felt He Fang’s grip tighten and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing, what could be wrong? Let’s go, get in the car."

Qin Guanglin shrugged nonchalantly and led her towards the van.

Suddenly feeling awkward upon seeing Jiang Lingling, despite the clear rejections given both openly and subtly lately – as she’d toned down considerably – he still remembered it was He Fang who had to remind him of Jiang Lingling’s past intentions. At once, he felt all twisted inside, unable to describe the sensation.

What a mess this is.

Sitting in the backseat, he noticed He Fang still smiling at him, which gave him the shivers, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, just thinking you look particularly handsome today." He Fang shrugged like he did earlier, then turned to look out the window, her lips curling up secretly.

She also felt a strange sense of wonder, seeing young Qin Guanglin liked by a younger girl, not feeling angry but rather amazed.

Good thing she had secured him early, or else... no, if it hadn’t been for her, this guy would definitely still be at home painting those lousy artworks, having the chance to meet girls would be a miracle.

Is this what they call a chain reaction...

"Shh, shh."

Sun Wen, who was sitting in front of Qin Guanglin to his right, turned around to get his attention and glanced at He Fang with a surreptitious thumbs up.

Qin Guanglin gestured with his eyes at Yueyue, who was sitting beside him, and pursed his lips silently.

"You two can communicate with just looks now?" He Fang caught on to their little exchanges and rolled her eyes, pinched Qin Guanglin’s hand hard, then rummaged in her bag for her earphones, untangling the knotted wires.

"No, no way," Qin Guanglin laughed, "I’d more likely communicate with just looks with you."

"Then guess what I’m thinking?"

"..."

Seeing He Fang lift her face to meet his gaze, Qin Guanglin quickly thought, "Wondering... why these earphone wires are so tangled."

He Fang just looked at him, saying nothing.

"Or maybe you’re thinking if I could guess what you’re thinking."

"..."

"Alright... I can’t guess," Qin Guanglin surrendered reluctantly, "What are you thinking about?"

"Someone said, to know if a person loves you, you just need to lock eyes for twenty seconds and see if they’ll lean in for a kiss," He Fang whispered, and couldn’t help but laugh at Qin Guanglin’s wide eyes, then she lowered her head to continue sorting out her earphone wires.

"But... with so many people around, and all colleagues..."

Qin Guanglin muttered quietly. He truly hadn’t expected such a strange test to exist, who on earth came up with this silly idea?

"That’s enough, I got it," He Fang interrupted him with a smile and handed him the earphones, "Here, I’ve found some new songs for you again."

"I think the one you sang last time was the best. Find the original sometime and let me hear it, see if it’s as good as your version."

"..."

He Fang’s movements halted for a moment, then she rested casually on his shoulder and closed her eyes as if nothing had happened, "I’ve forgotten where I heard it, can’t find it."

"Alright then."

Qin Guanglin sank deeper into his seat to make her more comfortable, listening to the music in his earphones, he turned to look out the window.

The car headed south, hitting the freeway after leaving the city. The roadside scenery rapidly receded. The further south they traveled, the sparser the buildings became until all that lay before him was the open space, golden wheat fields undulating in the wind, with the occasional straw scarecrow standing in the distance on the ridges.

He turned his head to look at He Fang, who might have fallen asleep or was just resting, then glanced around the carriage. Seeing no one paying attention, he gently kissed her hair.

He never liked to travel, to leave home, or to tour around; but since meeting He Fang, Qin Guanglin found he liked all these things.

The lazy bone deep within him made him reluctant to try new things; one could call it being stuck in his ways, or just plain laziness. In any case, from his childhood to adulthood, he never bothered to change things in his life. He’d get his hair cut at the same place every time, eat at the same restaurant, buy the same style of clothes.

His life always followed a straight, predictable pattern, moving from one point to another, rarely changing on his own initiative, instinctively resisting anything new.

Now, things were different. He felt as though he’d come to life; his heart was alive. Places he had never visited, he thought of going together. Foods he had never tried, he wanted to try together. Things he’d never done, games he’d never played... He was willing to try all these unexperienced things, one by one.

With her.