Chapter 54: A Husband |
After lunch, Tingting obediently helped her dad clean up.
"Leave that to me. You go back to your room and rest for a bit, so you'll have energy for class this afternoon."
Hearing this, Tingting didn't insist, putting down the bowl and chopsticks to ask, "Dad, what time will you be back tonight?"
"Not sure, but I'll definitely be back before eight."
Although they stop taking orders before six, that's just for individuals.
Some businesses only sort out their shipments for the day near closing time.
These major clients naturally get different treatment.
Their packages must be picked up and sent to the Express Delivery station the same day, so it usually gets very late.
"Oh, okay.
Zhu Guangfa scratched his head. The older his daughter got, the less she talked to him.
He vaguely sensed something was wrong between them, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
After washing the dishes, Zhu Guangfa came out of the kitchen and walked to her door.
He raised his hand to knock, but hesitated and lowered it, worried he might disturb his daughter's rest.
He went to the bathroom, wet a towel with some water, and hastily wiped his face and neck.
Then, he used his large mug to brew a big cup of Coarse Leaf Tea, setting it aside to cool. The weather was too hot, and he would take it with him to drink at work in the afternoon.
Leaning back on the sofa, exhausted from a long day, he felt as light as if he were sitting on a cloud. In no time, he was snoring loudly.
In his drowsy state, Zhu Guangfa seemed to hear a door closing. He startled awake.
He had fallen asleep on the sofa at some point. Thinking of his daughter, he was about to sit up.
When he saw his wife sitting beside him, smiling at him.
He said subconsciously, "Tingting went to school…"
Before he could finish his sentence, he realized what was happening.
His eyes widened, his face filled with joyful surprise.
He reached out and pulled his wife into an embrace, exclaiming with delight, "Xiuzhi, I'm dreaming of you again."
Du Xiuzhi reached out and gently patted his broad back, offering no explanation.
The two of them held each other tenderly for a good while before Zhu Guangfa seemed to come to his senses.
He gently pushed Du Xiuzhi away and said, "Xiuzhi, I forgot, I'm all dirty and smell of sweat."
"It's okay.
Didn't you used to say this is the smell of a real man?"
"Haha, Xiuzhi, you still remember." Zhu Guangfa laughed loudly upon hearing this, as happy as a child.
But he still said, "Wait for me, I'm going to take a shower."
As he spoke, he hastily got up to go to the bathroom, but carelessly kicked his foot on the leg of the table.
The pain made him suck in a sharp breath. Just as he was about to look down at the injury, he suddenly realized something, and his mind went blank with a buzz.
He whipped his head around and saw the woman still sitting on the sofa, a gentle smile on her face.
Then he limped back, his voice trembling slightly, "Xiuzhi, I… I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Du Xiuzhi nodded gently, then asked with a smile, "Aren't you afraid of me?"
Hearing this, Zhu Guangfa was like a child, and tears instantly streamed down his face.
He choked out, "I… why would I be afraid of you?"
"I'm dead. I'm a Ghost now.
Aren't you afraid, dear?" Du Xiuzhi said in a soft voice.
Hearing this, Zhu Guangfa quickly shook his head.
"Of course not. You're my wife," Zhu Guangfa said.
Du Xiuzhi took Zhu Guangfa's hand and had him sit down to talk.
Zhu Guangfa's hands were thick, coarse, and calloused, while Du Xiuzhi's fingers were slender and fair, like spring onions.
The two hands holding each other were surprisingly harmonious.
"You're still so clumsy.
Does it hurt?" Du Xiuzhi looked down at his toe.
"It doesn't hurt, hehe…" Zhu Guangfa shook his head with a grin.
Tears were on his face, but his smile was incredibly bright.
"You're a grown man, why are you still such a crybaby?"
Du Xiuzhi reached out to wipe the tears from his face, but Zhu Guangfa caught her hand.
"I'm not crying, I… I'm just happy I can see you again," Zhu Guangfa said.
"Aren't you curious why you can see me?"
Zhu Guangfa shook his head, then nodded.
"What do you mean by that?" Du Xiuzhi frowned.
The big and burly Zhu Guangfa was meek and submissive in front of Du Xiuzhi.
Hearing her, he hurriedly explained, "I shook my head because seeing you again is all that matters. But I am also a little curious…"
Upon hearing this, Du Xiuzhi took the initiative to explain, "It's because I happened to meet Mr.
Shen."
"Mr.
Shen?" Zhu Guangfa was a bit confused.
"The one from that company you went to this morning…"
Du Xiuzhi roughly explained what had happened.
Then she said, "Mr. Shen is a capable person.
He took pity on your devotion, and that's why he let me meet with you."
Zhu Guangfa finally understood.
Then he said happily, "So you've been by my side all this time. I knew it."
"How did you know?" Du Xiuzhi gave him a sidelong glance, her eyes as clear as autumn waters.
"Because I'm full of energy every day at work, with endless strength. It must be because you're with me…"
"Nonsense.
Are you silly or what? You don't take care of yourself at all. If you work yourself to collapse, who will Tingting rely on in the future?" Du Xiuzhi poked his forehead in exasperation.
"Right, Tingting."
Hearing that, Zhu Guangfa finally remembered his daughter and hurriedly stood up, wanting to find her.
But he was pulled back by Du Xiuzhi.
"Tingting already left for school," Du Xiuzhi said, exasperated.
"Right, I vaguely heard the door close just now," Zhu Guangfa said with a silly grin.
Speaking of their daughter, Du Xiuzhi couldn't help but sigh internally.
Zhu Guangfa might not know what was going on, but how could she not?
So she said, "Ask her teacher for leave and pick her up this afternoon. The three of us can have a proper get-together."
She also had many things she wanted to say to her daughter.
"Okay, okay…"
Hearing this, Zhu Guangfa immediately stood up, then sucked in another sharp breath. Only then did he remember that his toe still hurt.
"Look at you. Does it hurt badly?" Du Xiuzhi asked with some concern.
"It's fine, it'll be better in a bit."
He said this while limping towards the door to put on his shoes, but he never let go of Du Xiuzhi's hand.
It was as if he was afraid she would fly away the moment he let go.
Du Xiuzhi didn't struggle, letting him hold onto her.
After putting on his shoes, Zhu Guangfa seemed to think of something and turned back to ask, "Can Tingting see you too?"
Du Xiuzhi nodded. Her lips parted slightly, and a wisp of Pale Blue Breath escaped her mouth, circling around her in the air as if it were alive.
"Mr. Shen gave me two wisps of qi.
With this qi, you can see me." Du Xiuzhi opened her mouth and inhaled, and the wisp of qi returned to her mouth.
Shen Siyuan had learned his lesson from the incident with Jiang Wenxin. This time, he used a different method, giving Du Xiuzhi two strands of Underworld Qi to swallow and nurture within her.
The Underworld Qi, tinged with her own aura, could be passed to someone she wanted to see her, allowing them to do so.
This would also prevent the situation of seeing ghosts everywhere.
Hearing this, Zhu Guangfa was finally relieved. He continued to lead his wife out the door, but just as they reached the elevator.
He suddenly said, worried, "Is Mr. Shen really just being kind? Could he be…"