Chapter 1010: Temporary Reconciliation, United Against Outsiders

"Nonsense, when have I ever told a lie? Even if I did, you aren't worth me lying to."

Gu Zhihao thanked her joyfully and turned to leave.

"Come back."

She called him back, frustrated by his lack of ambition, and poked her finger at his forehead: "Is your head only for eating? Can't you think things through before you act? Shi Yuke is currently in a fit of rage; if you look so smug, isn't it obvious that I came back to help you?"

"You can't let her see that you're happy; you have to play hard to get."

"How do I play hard to get?" he asked humbly, truly not understanding, and if he didn't understand, he had to ask.

Ji Yingjie lowered her voice and gave him earnest instructions.

Shi Yuke was alone in her room, fuming.

She had been angry for a long time and hadn't seen Gu Zhihao come over, nor had she seen any lunch.

Being in a fit of rage, she didn't even feel hungry.

But Ji Yingjie's cook knocked on the door: "Miss, it's time to eat. Will you be going to the dining room to eat with the mistress, or will you be eating alone in your room?"

"Send it over." She didn't want to eat with Ji Yingjie.

"Very well."

The cook brought the food quickly; she knew without eating that this wasn't Gu Zhihao's cooking.

Only then did she remember that Ji Yingjie had been here for several hours, and she hadn't seen a trace of Gu Zhihao.

She wanted to call and ask, but later she held back.

The squab soup the cook brought wasn't skimmed of oil properly; perhaps they wanted to stew it until it was very tender, as the squab was falling off the bone... it looked unappetizing.

Consequently, she didn't touch much of it; she couldn't eat it.

The sky gradually darkened.

Father returned.

He had just moved back home when he was dragged away by an old neighbor to play chess and chat at their house.

"Zhihao, Zhihao..."

Father's loud voice had great penetrating power.

Shi Yuke also pricked up her ears to listen.

Gu Zhihao usually hovered before her eyes, which was annoying, but she wasn't used to him suddenly being gone.

"What are you shouting for? Gu Zhihao has moved out." Ji Yingjie's voice.

"Why did he move out? It must be that you drove him away. You woman are just too overbearing. Now the house is theirs; we are just staying here as guests. How could you drive the master of the house away? That's too much..."

"What are you yelling about? What are you yelling about? You don't know the facts and you're just shouting blindly. I told him to vacate the guest room for Nianyin to live in. The two of them are a couple and should live together; why take up an extra room? Am I wrong? Am I wrong?"

She was relentless, shouting even louder.

While shouting, she winked at her husband.

No matter how slow Shi Yucheng was, he understood his wife's meaning.

Thus, the couple cooperated, singing in harmony.

"Where did he move to? If this gets out, I won't have the face to go out and see people. They've been taking care of the old and the young in our house for so many years; even if there's no credit, there's been hard work."

"We move back, and Zhihao moves out. Won't the neighbors poke my spine? Now that Yuke is cured and I have a son, we're discarding the donkey the moment it's off the mill..."

Shi Yuke appeared at the top of the stairs.

She interrupted the two of them with an icy voice: "Stop arguing. I've already called him; he'll be back soon."

"Good, good, good. Yuke, you are truly sensible; you are worthy of being my, Shi Yucheng's, daughter..."

She turned and went back, not responding to her father's remark.

In the courtyard of the bungalow.

The courtyard was not large. Gu Zhihao was pacing in circles, checking his phone every three seconds on average, very anxious, terrified of missing a call from his wife.

"Still no call?" he muttered to himself.

Gu Zhihao felt uncertain.

He was afraid of being too clever by half.

When Ji Yingjie explained the plan, she had an expression of absolute confidence, so he believed her.

But once he was out and the wind blew on him, he sobered up. When was she ever not wearing that expression?

In any case, if things were messed up, it wouldn't be her business.

Not only would she not admit fault, but she would also righteously accuse him of poor execution...

This wouldn't do; he couldn't keep his cool and prepared to pack his things and go back.

It was already dark; had Yuke eaten?

Would those people Ji Yingjie brought treat people differently based on their status and bully his wife while he wasn't looking?

He felt this was very likely.

He thought a lot, and the more he thought, the more uneasy he became.

Forget it, what "play hard to get"? His wife wasn't a noodle; what was there to stretch?

Gu Zhihao was preparing to go home—"Ring-a-ling!" The phone finally rang.

He was so excited he almost threw the phone.

It was his wife's number. Great, she had called him.

Ji Yingjie was right; she really did have him in her heart.

If she didn't, she wouldn't have called.

He didn't answer immediately, even though he really wanted to.

Gu Zhihao firmly remembered what Ji Yingjie said—people are all base; the more you rush to please them, the less you are valued!

The ringing continued.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

When it rang for the fourth time, he answered, asking in the coldest voice possible: "What is it?"

"Um, where did you go?"

"To keep you from feeling awkward, I moved back to the bungalow."

"You should move back."

He suppressed the wild joy in his heart and feigned hesitation: "Is that a good idea? That woman clearly doesn't want you to be happy; wouldn't me moving back be exactly what she wants?"

Shi Yuke: "Just consider it coming back to help me. Dad has high blood pressure, and I can't bear for him to... because he's worried about me."

"Fine, I'll go back."

Gu Zhihao returned home and, as a matter of course, moved back into the bedroom.

Following what Ji Yingjie taught him, he took the initiative to take a quilt from the wardrobe and spread it on the floor to make a floor bed.

"You use this quilt; this one is thicker, the floor is cold."

Although his wife didn't directly let him sleep on the bed, she took the initiative to ask to swap quilts with him; did this count as progress?

He turned off the light.

There was still a Baobao crib between the two of them, but Gu Zhihao was very satisfied.

Being able to be in the same room as his wife and being able to feel Yuke's breathing was enough to satisfy him.

His love was simple and humble.

He couldn't sleep, tossing and turning on the floor bed, flipping over, then flipping back.

Shi Yuke couldn't sleep either, but she didn't dare turn over.

If she did, he would discover that neither of them was asleep.

She didn't want to chat with him; when words don't agree, even half a sentence is too much.

But the child woke up.

"Waa, waa, waa—"

This crying meant either a wet diaper or hunger.

She had just thought about getting up when he leaped up from the floor bed.

He nimbly turned on the light, changed Baobao's diaper, and then asked softly: "Yuke, are you asleep?"

"No."

"The child is hungry."

He placed Baobao on the bed and, without needing a reminder, gently pulled the door open and went out.

"Whew—"

Shi Yuke let out a long sigh.

She had been in a dilemma just now; if Gu Zhihao hadn't gone out, how was she supposed to breastfeed?

Of course, they were husband and wife, so in truth, there shouldn't be any need to avoid each other.

But it was awkward; it was just awkward.

Baobao fell asleep quickly after eating, her little mouth blowing bubbles.

She put the child back in the small bed, tucked her in, and then pulled the door open a crack.

Gu Zhihao entered immediately.

He placed a steaming cup of milk on the nightstand and, without a word, crawled into the floor bed.

Shi Yuke's expression froze.

Milk aids sleep; every time she couldn't sleep, Gu Zhihao would bring her a cup of hot milk to drink, then hold her and tell her bedtime stories, and she would be asleep in no time.

The milk was still the same temperature, but the bedtime stories were gone.

She picked up the cup and drank it in small sips.

She didn't know why, but she felt a bit at ease, and she fell asleep very quickly.