Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 186 - 183: Summer Night

Chapter 186: Chapter 183: Summer Night

Night was falling slowly, stars began to hang in the sky, everyone lit a bonfire for illumination, sitting cross-legged some distance apart, either chatting or playing cards, with a few others skewering food with bamboo sticks.

Qin Guanglin and Chen Rui were busy at the barbecue grill, one on each side. Chen Rui occasionally gave directions, and when Qin Guanglin had his fill tasting his own practice skewers, he finally mastered the technique and grilled some chicken wings to his satisfaction. He excitedly took them to He Fang, then returned to continue grilling.

As expected, Chen Rui wasn’t just boasting. He turned skewers over the grill just like a street vendor, pouring on the seasoning, and easily dividing the cooked food, enough for five or six people with a handful, quickly grilling a portion for everyone.

"Mmm, his are tenderer, yours are well done." He Fang held a dozen skewers in each hand, taking bites from one and then the other, nodding at Qin Guanglin in praise, "Both are delicious, you should try one too."

"I was just worried they might not be cooked and give me an upset stomach."

Qin Guanglin bit into a skewer she handed him, found it quite acceptable, each having their own flavor, "What else would you like? I can grill it for you."

"Connected bones." He Fang pointed with the skewer at the ingredients nearby.

"Sure, it’ll be ready in no time."

Qin Guanglin placed about ten skewers on the grill to cook, while Chen Rui, already having made many, took a big skewer for himself and sat to rest. Yu Le, eager to try it out, came over with some corn to grill, and upon turning his head, saw the two next to him: Qin Guanglin grilling while He Fang ate, stretching out skewers to share bites. Yu Le looked down at his corn and suddenly found it less appealing.

"Want anything grilled? I can do it for you," Qin Guanglin called out to Yu Le, "I’ve gotten pretty good now."

"A grilled lemon, thanks."

"Where did lemon come from?" He turned to look at the ingredients, shrugged, then turned to bite a skewer handed to him by He Fang, muttered ambiguously, "How about some squid?"

"Bleh." Yu Le burped, "No need, I’m full."

...

Always fan-flipping at the grill, Qin Guanglin was having a wonderful time, sharing half for He Fang and the rest for anyone else who wanted more, until He Fang couldn’t hold any more and he finally stopped, moved away from the barbecue to sit on the hillside, enjoying the cool evening breeze on the grass.

In the vast dark night, stars twinkled brighter than in the city. The Milky Way truly resembled a river pouring light. He Fang nibbled on a chicken wing, slowly leaning on Qin Guanglin’s shoulder, then looking up.

"With such a scene, you should say some sweet nothings to me."

"With a chicken wing in my mouth?"

"Couldn’t you put it down first?"

"Mmm..." Qin Guanglin pulled away the wing from his mouth, turned his head to look at He Fang, "Say what?"

"Eat your chicken wing." He Fang rolled her eyes, handing over the half-eaten wing to Qin Guanglin, "Here, take this, I want the connected bones."

"Oh."

The two sat on the hillside quietly biting into skewers, grilling far too many, He Fang ate a small portion then stopped, leaving the rest for Qin Guanglin. They finished up, went to the creek to wash their hands and faces, then wandered around the tents to drink some water.

The group, full and satisfied, sat in a circle around the bonfire, taking turns telling ghost stories. Qin Guanglin listened for a while, seeing He Fang tense up and couldn’t help but chuckle, pulling her away to sit back on the hillside to cool off.

"Why are you so afraid of those ghosts and goblins? You know it’s all fake."

"I know it’s fake, but it still scares me." He Fang glanced back at the crowd, obviously enjoying their storytelling, shrank her neck closer to Qin Guanglin, "It’s really my brother’s fault. When I was little, he always watched horror movies and insisted I watch with him, especially those from Hong Kong. Just thinking about them gives me chills, left me with a psychological shadow."

"Once he even scared me to tears, and my dad beat him up," He Fang chuckled as she continued, "threw all those scary DVDs into the trash bin. Finally, he calmed down and started watching martial arts films, fantasizing every day that he was a martial arts master, running around with a broken stick, and then my Dad beat him up again..."

"Did your dad ever beat you?"

"Of course not, it was always my brother who got beaten." He Fang drew circles on the palm of his hand. "Whenever I did something wrong, my dad couldn’t bear to hit me, so he’d pick up my brother and give him a beating, then he’d make me stand to one side and watch, telling me that if I messed up again, he’d hit me like that..."

She couldn’t help but burst into laughter halfway through, "After that, my brother kept a close eye on me every day, afraid that I would make a mistake. He even forced me to tutor him before exams, scared I would perform poorly."

"Your brother really had it tough." Qin Guanglin laughed too. "Is this like killing the chicken to scare the monkey?"

"Hehe, thinking about it now, my dad might have done it on purpose, to make sure my brother kept me in line. I always had good grades, and when I messed up, he even took the blame for me—since taking the blame got him a lighter beating... Seeing him so pitiful, I hardly ever messed up again. Thinking about it, my dad really killed two birds with one stone..."

He Fang shifted and lay on the grass, resting her head on his thigh, comfortably looking up at the starry sky, chatting about childhood antics while Qin Guanglin gently stroked her hair, listening quietly and laughing softly from time to time.

"By the way, I took a picture of the painting you did and posted it in my family’s group chat. Both my brother and sister-in-law praised you."

"What painting?" Qin Guanglin didn’t catch on immediately.

"The one you painted this afternoon, remember? I took a photo and showed it off in the group. My sister-in-law said you’re romantic."

"What did your dad say?"

"He said it was all flashy."

"..."

"Just take it as a compliment. You’re the one who’s flashy, not even able to speak a word of romance." He Fang hummed, fiddling with his hand. "Just able to paint that silly painting."

"How hard can it be?"

Qin Guanglin stayed quiet for a moment, cleared his throat and touched her cheek, starting, "After meeting you, my grand ambitions and passion turned into the simple desire to walk home with you on a country road at dusk."

"What the heck?" He Fang frowned and sat up, immediately spotting the smartphone Qin Guanglin sneakily held behind his back, lit up. She glared at him irritably, "What grand ambitions did you have before you met me? What were you passionately planning to do?"

"...Become a great artist." Qin Guanglin thought of resisting a bit, but seeing that she saw right through him, he just shrugged. "Okay, I just googled that... This stuff, I’m really not good at."

"Can’t speak it, nor do it?" He Fang held back a laugh, playfully nudging his lips.

To her, his silly look was more enticing than any sweet talk.

"Wasn’t kissing you half of the afternoon enough?" Qin Guanglin looked around; the darkness of the night meant there was no need to worry about prying eyes.

"I was fine, but I wanted to do something else with you." He Fang whispered in his ear, nibbling it lightly, "If we can’t do anything else, I guess kisses will have to do."

"..."

Qin Guanglin’s heart raced suddenly, then he realized, this woman was teasing him again.

She definitely wouldn’t dare say this at home—it’s only because we’re out here in the wilderness, with no one around, that she dares to play with him like this.

Under the twinkling stars, the evening breeze swept over the hills, the distant sounds of people’s laughter contrasting with the quiet night here.

Occasionally, a faint smacking sound would arise, quickly dispersed by the night wind through the hills.