Marrying My Bestie's Ferocious Brother - He Calls Me His Baby!-Chapter 11: From Dilapidated Shack to Cozy Home, One Apple Leaves the Entire Courtyard Craving!
When Gu Yanshen returned from the regiment’s meeting, the sky had already darkened.
The wind in Beijiang cut against his face like a knife. He walked quickly, harboring a trace of worry even he hadn’t noticed.
That delicate city girl, staying alone in that dilapidated house, could she be curled up in a corner crying?
He pushed open the creaky wooden door, ready to be greeted by desolation and a tear-streaked face.
However, the scene behind the door left him rooted to the spot.
Inside the house, there was no dimness or mustiness. Instead, a bright kerosene lamp cast a warm glow. The floor was swept clean, the uneven parts cleverly covered with flat stones. The broken table with a missing corner was now draped with a white cloth embroidered with elegant orchids, and in a coarse pottery jar at the table’s corner, a few yellow wildflowers bloomed in defiance of the wind.
Even the cobwebbed windows had been wiped clean, reflecting the faint starlight from outside.
And Lin Wan Yi was sitting by the table, slowly wiping an enamel bowl with a cloth in her hand. She had changed into clean clothes, her black hair braided loosely and hanging in front of her, her profile looking as white as jade under the lamplight, with a relaxed smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
Hearing the door open, she looked up and smiled with her eyes.
"You’re back? Perfect timing, dinner is ready."
Her voice was as soft and gentle as usual, with no hint of grievance.
Gu Yanshen stepped into the room, each step feeling as if he were walking on cloud nine. He looked around. Was this still the dirty, shabby room from the afternoon? It was as if it had transformed into another place entirely.
"You..." his throat was dry, and he could only manage a single word.
"What about me?" Lin Wan Yi put down the bowl, stood up, and walked to him, tilting her small face up, "Do you think your wife is particularly capable?"
There was a faint, indescribable fragrance about her, more pleasant than any flower.
Gu Yanshen instinctively took half a step back, avoiding her proximity, his eyes falling on the embroidered tablecloth, "Where... did all this come from?"
"I brought them from home," Lin Wan Yi replied matter-of-factly, "Folded up, they take little space. How is it, doesn’t it look much better with it on?"
Gu Yanshen didn’t respond, his gaze sweeping over every corner of the room. This was not just cleaning up; it was a magical transformation of decay into beauty.
"Hungry? Quickly wash your hands, I’ve made you a bowl of noodles." Lin Wan Yi said, turning to the makeshift stove set up with stones in the corner.
On the stove, a small pot was bubbling with steam, the rich, dominant aroma rapidly filling the entire room.
Gu Yanshen, accustomed to eating coarse grains from the canteen or dry, hard biscuits, had never smelled such an enticing fragrance.
Obediently, he washed his hands and sat down by the table.
Lin Wan Yi soon came over with a large bowl and placed it before him.
"Eat up, you had a long journey."
Gu Yanshen looked down.
In the bowl were firm white noodles, with a broth of enticing milky white, a few fresh green leafy vegetables floating on top, and a golden fried egg nestled in.
In this resource-scarce border regiment, where even fresh vegetables were hard to come by, such a bowl of noodles was tantamount to a culinary delight.
He picked up his chopsticks, somewhat hesitant: "Where... did you get the vegetables and eggs?"
"A kind lady gave them to me on the way," Lin Wan Yi had her response ready, serving herself a small bowl and sitting across from him, smilingly urging, "Eat quickly, or it’ll get soggy."
Gu Yanshen asked no more, taking a chopstick’s worth of noodles and placing it into his mouth.
The noodles were smooth, with a pure wheat aroma. The broth was so delicious it nearly made him bite his tongue, the warm liquid sliding down his esophagus into his stomach, dispelling the fatigue and chill accumulated over several days.
In a few gulps, he finished the noodles, picking up the bowl to drink the broth to the last drop.
As he set down the bowl, he felt every pore in his body relax and fill with strength.
He looked up, gazing with a new, complex expression at Lin Wan Yi, who was eating her noodles with small bites.
Just how many unexpected skills did this woman have?
At that moment, footsteps and voices came from the yard.
"Hey, do you smell that? What’s that wonderful aroma?" It was Sister in law Wang with her distinctive loud voice.
"Seems like... it’s coming from Mr. Gu’s house?"
"No way, from that shabby house, could they make anything good?"
Before the words finished, the old door creaked open from the outside.
Sister in law Wang, along with two other military wives, poked their heads in to take a look.
When they saw the inside of the house clearly, the expressions on the three women’s faces were as if they’d seen a ghost.
The clean and tidy room, the cozy and elegant arrangement, and... the two spotless empty bowls on the table.
"Oh, Mr. Gu, you’re back?" Sister in law Wang’s gaze greedily swept around the room, finally landing on Lin Wan Yi, speaking with a condescending smile, "Sister, you really have skills, making us drool from the other side of the wall. What delicacies are you enjoying?"
The sarcasm in her words was palpable.
Gu Yanshen’s face darkened, about to speak.
But Lin Wan Yi gently pressed his hand, standing up with no sign of offense, instead wearing a sweet smile.
"Sister Wang, you’ve come? Please come in and sit. We weren’t having anything special, just a simple bowl of noodles."
As she spoke, she rummaged through her luggage and pulled out two red, plump items.
---
They were apples.
As large as an adult man’s fist, their skins shone as if polished, emitting a fragrant sweetness.
In Beijiang, where even dried apples were rare, such fresh apples were enough to drive anyone wild.
Sister in law Wang and the two other military wives’ eyes widened.
"We just arrived, and I have nothing special to offer you sisters," Lin Wan Yi handed one of the apples to Sister in law Wang, her smile impeccable, "I brought these from home, didn’t even eat them on the way. Sister, try it, quench your thirst."
Sister in law Wang held the heavy apple as if it were hot, her face fluctuating between green and white. The prepared mockery and harsh words were all swallowed down by this one apple.
She gazed at Lin Wan Yi’s radiant face, glanced at the impossibly perfect apple in her hand, and almost subconsciously took a bite.
"Crunch—"
The crisp sound was remarkably clear in the quiet night.
The sweet, cool juice exploded in her mouth. It was a taste she had never experienced in her life—a supreme sweetness.
Sister in law Wang’s motion froze.
The scorn and dissatisfaction on her face swiftly transformed into indescribable astonishment, finally morphing into a stark, almost overflowing jealousy.
