Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 73: The First Wife of a 1980s Big Shot Who Died Young (6)

　　Ge Lili stood there awkwardly for a moment. She wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes and muttered, “Sorry.”

　　Then she suddenly turned around and ran off.

　　Huo Meilan blinked in confusion and tilted her head toward the man beside her. “What was that? Another girl you dragged in trouble?”

　　Qin Huaijing let out a laugh of frustration. “Am I the wronged one here or what? She came crying to me on her own, saying I was pitiful, talking about how I married a wife who’s not presentable, and even trying to convince me to divorce you.”

　　Huo Meilan: “……”

　　Alright then. So she was the victim in this situation, apparently.

　　“Hey, why so quiet now?” Qin Huaijing teased her on purpose, a bit smug.

　　Huo Meilan didn’t respond. She just patted her stomach and said, “I’m hungry.”

　　That instantly shut him up.

　　He gave up teasing her completely and sighed. “Alright, alright. Nothing matters more than filling your stomach.”

　　The canteen in the army was pretty decent. Huo Meilan picked out quite a bit of what she liked, mostly meat dishes with only a sad little amount of vegetables.

　　Qin Huaijing followed behind and paid for her. Then he couldn’t help but remind her, “If you only eat meat and skip veggies, your stomach’s gonna complain. Eat a bit of both.”

　　Huo Meilan turned her head and shut him down in just a few words. “I like meat.”

　　Qin Huaijing choked a little. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’ll regret not listening to advice.”

　　Huo Meilan ignored him completely, grabbed a bowl of soup, and walked over to find a seat.

　　Qin Huaijing followed with his food tray, then deliberately sat about a meter away from her like he was trying to avoid unnecessary stress.

　　Huo Meilan couldn’t help but laugh when she saw him like that.

　　But then again, it made sense. Qin Huaijing was only twenty-two this year. He looked tall and steady, all composed on the outside, but really, he was just a young guy in his early twenties.

　　The two of them sat about a meter apart and quietly finished their lunch.

　　Qin Huaijing stood up first and glanced back at her. “I’m going to find someone to fix a bed. I won’t be back at noon.”

　　Then he left.

　　Huo Meilan didn’t care. She could find her way home easily anyway.

　　Back at the family compound, she put away the things she bought. There wasn’t much to do here, no entertainment at all.

　　Once she closed the door, she slipped into her space to relax.

　　She put on a face mask and picked up a super melodramatic CEO romance novel. Somehow, it was weirdly addictive.

　　Before she knew it, it was already afternoon. Her face mask had dried, so she quickly washed it off and left the space.

　　Luckily, no one had knocked on the door, and Qin Huaijing hadn’t returned yet either.

　　But then, as if the man had jinxed her, she suddenly felt something off in her stomach.

　　She kept going back and forth into her space to use the toilet, but nothing was really coming out.

　　In the end, she rummaged through her things and found the first aid kit. She took some digestive pills and a mild laxative.

　　After a whole round of struggling, the constipation finally eased up a little.

　　She was feeling a bit low and didn’t even bother going into the space to sleep. Mostly because Qin Huaijing was probably getting off work soon anyway.

　　So she just flopped onto the bed and went full “I give up on life” mode.

　　Qin Huaijing came back a little late that day, the sky already dimming into dusk.

　　The moment he walked into the courtyard, he noticed the house wasn’t lit up at all, which was a little unusual.

　　“Huo Meilan?”

　　Hearing him come back, she stayed lying down with her eyes closed. “I’m here.”

　　“Why didn’t you light the kerosene lamp? The matches are right next to it…”

　　Qin Huaijing stepped inside while talking, lit the lamp, then casually glanced into the next room.

　　And immediately saw her sprawled out on the bed like a starfish.

　　He couldn’t hold it in and snorted, teasing on purpose, “What’s got you all wilted like that?”

　　She didn’t want to deal with him. It was obvious he was just laughing at her.

　　Qin Huaijing bit back a smile and tapped the wall lightly. “Alright, alright, I won’t tease you. There’s some digestive pills in the cabinet. Take a couple and you’ll feel better.”

　　This girl is quite bold; she’s prone to getting sick from the change in environment when she first arrives here. Yesterday he had already picked a light meal for her, two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, plus a pear. Nothing too heavy.

　　But at lunch she went all in on meat and barely touched vegetables. He even reminded her, but she didn’t care. Now she was paying the price.

　　Huo Meilan sat up, pretending nothing was wrong. “I’m fine. Totally fine. Nothing going on. Don’t need it.”

　　Qin Huaijing glanced at her. “Alright then. It’s not me suffering anyway.”

　　She quickly changed the topic. “What about the bed?”

　　“I found a carpenter through someone, but he said it’ll take three days.”

　　As he spoke, he took off his outer jacket and headed toward the next room.

　　“Oh right, I brought some mung bean porridge and steamed buns. You want any?”

　　Huo Meilan heard him and got up to follow. “Then I’ll just have some mung bean porridge.”

　　Mung beans were good for clearing heat and detoxing. She figured she was probably a bit “heated up” anyway, so it was just right to cool things down.

　　Qin Huaijing hung up his clothes, casually took some digestive pills from the cabinet, and walked over to place them on the table.

　　“Alright, stop being stubborn. Take two if you’re uncomfortable.”

　　With that, he brought over bowls and chopsticks and started serving the food.

　　Each of them got a big bowl of mung bean soup. Since Huo Meilan wasn’t having buns, Qin Huaijing ended up eating four himself.

　　The soup was cooked until it turned soft and slightly thick, smooth but still refreshing.

　　Huo Meilan actually liked it. There was more than just mung beans in it, they had even added shredded citrus peel. No wonder it tasted so light and refreshing.

　　She drank more than half of it, then noticed Qin Huaijing eating the steamed buns and looking oddly satisfied. The filling was a bright green, and it honestly looked pretty appetizing.

　　She couldn’t help asking, “What filling is that?”

　　Qin Huaijing was mid-bite and couldn’t speak, so he simply pushed the bowl of buns toward her, signaling her to take one herself.

　　She didn’t hold back. She picked one up directly. The buns in this era were generous, thin skin, lots of filling, and pretty big.

　　Only after taking a bite did she realize it was vegetable filling. It was well-seasoned too, a bit oily and really fragrant.

　　She ate the bun together with the mung bean porridge, alternating bites. Somehow, it just worked perfectly.

　　After finishing, Huo Meilan patted her stomach in satisfaction. The sluggish feeling from earlier was completely gone.

　　Even Qin Huaijing across from her suddenly looked a lot more pleasant to the eye. She obediently picked up the digestive pills from the table.

　　Seeing that, Qin Huaijing raised a brow but didn’t tease her this time. She had a pretty strong temper after all.

　　Last night, he had done the dishes. Today, Huo Meilan took the initiative to clean up and wash them.

　　Not only did he not stop her, he even chuckled and said, “Not bad. A husband and wife working together makes things easier. We’ll take turns from now on.”

　　After that, she went to wash the dishes while he washed up and got into bed.

　　By the time she came back, he had already claimed half the bed and was lounging there reading a book.

　　She paused for a second, then silently went to her side.

　　She took off her outer clothes and crawled under the blanket to sleep.

　　Except… it was only eight in the evening.

　　She lay there with her eyes closed, but she was completely awake.

　　Every now and then, the faint sound of pages turning came from beside her. The more she heard it, the less she felt like sleeping.

　　She turned over and heard Qin Huaijing ask, “Want to read?”

　　Huo Meilan sat up and mimicked his half-lying position. “Yeah. Got any storybooks?”

　　Qin Huaijing only had two books with him. He was already holding one, so he handed her the other.

　　She took it and looked at the cover. It read: Science in the 1980s.

　　Flipping it open, she found the content matched the title. As expected, it covered major scientific developments and breakthroughs from the 1980s.

　　It was not boring, at least. She could pass the time just fine.

　　Although Huo Meilan grew up in the countryside, she was well-educated by her elders and studied all the way through high school. She just did not make it into her ideal university.

　　She had originally planned to retake the exams, but then her grandfather fell ill. She gave up her studies to stay and take care of him, delaying everything by over a year.

　　Out of nowhere, she asked, “Qin Huaijing, I might still take the university entrance exam later. What do you think?”

　　She had her own dream university. It was just delayed for now. The kind of life she wanted was never just about getting married and having kids.

　　She was only twenty. She still had a long future ahead of her. She should live for herself first.

　　Qin Huaijing answered casually, not even thinking it was a big deal. “If you want to study, then study. Why ask me? I don’t have any objections. My old man always says it’s good to read more anyway. If you’ve got that mindset, he’ll definitely be happy.”

　　Huo Meilan curled her lips slightly and let out a soft “oh,” clearly satisfied.

　　Her marriage to Qin Huaijing was an arranged one.

　　Before coming here, she had already considered it. If their values did not match, or if he expected her to just stay at home as a housewife, she would find a way to get a divorce.

　　Luckily, Qin Huaijing was not like that.

　　——

　　In the middle of the night, Qin Huaijing suddenly felt something heavy press against his neck. Instinct kicked in and he reached back to pin it down.

　　Half-asleep, Huo Meilan frowned. A sharp pain shot through her calf and she reflexively kicked out.

　　“Hm…”

　　A low groan slipped from the man.

　　Qin Huaijing covered the side of his face, which had gone slightly numb. He could feel his nose bleeding, and that was enough to snap him fully awake.

　　By the moonlight, he finally saw the culprit sleeping in the most chaotic, all-over-the-place position imaginable.

　　He gritted his teeth. “Huo Meilan.”

　　Huo Meilan rubbed her calf, eyes still shut, and muttered in annoyance, “Don’t be loud… annoying…”

　　She rolled over, hugged the blanket, and went right back to sleep.

　　Qin Huaijing: “…”

　　Holding his nose, he got up, went outside to find a flashlight, then came back with a towel and washbasin to deal with his nosebleed.

　　……

　　The next day.

　　Because she had gone to bed early the night before, Huo Meilan actually woke up quite early for once. She stretched lazily, looking very satisfied.

　　“Hm… so comfortable.”

　　A low, cold chuckle came from beside her.

　　Huo Meilan flinched a little, only then remembering that she had slept on the same bed as Qin Huaijing.

　　Noticing his slightly unhappy expression, she raised an eyebrow. “What’s with that face so early in the morning?”

　　Qin Huaijing stared at her fair little face, then lifted a hand and pointed at his left cheek.

　　“Can you not see this bruise that big?”

　　Huo Meilan looked closer.

　　Oh. There really was a pretty obvious bruise there.

　　She even asked, “What happened? Did you fall off the bed in the middle of the night?”    

　　Qin Huaijing almost laughed in anger. “Comrade Huo Meilan, even the ground would cry injustice. That was you kicking me.”

　　Huo Meilan froze for a second, then blurted out instinctively, “No way, can my size 37 feet be that strong—”

　　She stopped mid-sentence as her brain finally caught up.

　　Right. She possessed superhuman strength.

　　That… made things a bit awkward.

　　Why would she kick someone in her sleep for no reason?

　　“Wait, let me think this through.”

　　She pressed a hand to her forehead and carefully replayed the moment in her mind. Then she snapped her fingers like she had cracked a case.

　　“No, that’s not it. You were the one who attacked me first.”

　　She immediately rolled up her pant leg to show her calf. “I was half-asleep, then suddenly someone attacked my calf. I reacted and kicked out instinctively.”

　　Her lower leg was slender and pale, with a soft little curve of muscle. It looked soft enough to pinch.

　　Qin Huaijing glanced at her leg and raised a brow. “Evidence?”

　　Huo Meilan checked it thoroughly, even turning her leg a bit. There was nothing at all, not even a mark. Strangely enough, it did not even hurt anymore, even though she clearly remembered pain from last night.

　　She looked at him with bright, righteous eyes. “It must have been you who attacked me first. Otherwise I would not have fought back.”