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[Lord_Wolve] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Nevy] [Nicole] contemporary romance
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Xiao Heng's clothes and pants were both soaked by the hangover soup. He had to change completely. After he finished changing and turned around, he instinctively glanced at the messy and drunken Gu Jiao on the bed.
Gu Jiao's sleeping appearance was a bit... well, hard to describe.
Her face was flushed, the quilt was kicked off, and even the pillow was askew.
She spread her arms and legs, lying sprawled on the bed in the shape of a '大' character, her head tilted to the side.
"Guye, I've tidied up the room." Grannie Fang spoke from outside the door.
"Okay, I got it." Xiao Heng replied.
Xiao Heng approached the bedside and looked at Gu Jiao, who was sleeping in such an unusual posture for the first time. He felt a strange sensation in his heart.
Then, he glanced at the corner of Gu Jiao's lips.
Wait a minute.
Was this girl too drunk or having some dream?
Why did it seem like she drooled a puddle?
Xiao Heng took out a handkerchief and gently wiped it clean for her. Why did he feel like this girl was laughing even in her dreams?
Gu Jiao was in a drunken stupor, unable to stay awake for the New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, others played around until midnight, with Little Jing Kong and Gu Xiaoshun setting off firecrackers, not just in their house but throughout the entire alley.
Yet, even with all this noise, Gu Jiao remained undisturbed in her sweet dreams.
Her husband was so handsome with such a great figure, the best she had seen in her two lifetimes.
So good looking, so good looking!
Gu Jiao, who was dreaming, rolled back and forth on the bed while holding a small quilt.
The next day, Gu Xiaobao woke up the earliest.
He was hungry and wanted milk.
After Yao shi fed him milk, he didn't want to sleep anymore. As a baby more than three months old, he couldn't sit or crawl yet, so he had to resign himself to lying down, wearing particularly thick clothes.
But Gu Xiaobao was used to it. He didn't cry or fuss and just sucked his fingers, letting Yao shi sleep a little longer.
With all the firecrackers crackling last night, he remained obedient throughout. Even if he woke up due to the noise, he didn't fuss, just comforted himself by sucking his fingers to sleep again.
When Yao shi woke up, Gu Xiaobao was still sucking his fingers. Such a well-behaved child truly melted Yao shi's heart.
Yao shi got dressed and went to the main room. Yuya'er and Grannie Fang were already up. Soon after, Little Jing Kong and Gu Xiaoshun also woke up.
The two sat in the main room blankly.
It was unknown what Gu Xiaoshun and Little Jing Kong had discussed, but both turned their attention to the door of the west room.
Shortly after, Xiao Heng came out from the west room.
The two stared fixedly at his right leg. Gu Xiaoshun nudged Little Jing Kong's arm with his elbow, whispering, "I wasn't lying, look, it's healed!"
He had noticed it yesterday but got distracted by Gu Yan and forgot about it. This morning, he woke up and pulled Little Jing Kong along to verify it together.
Little Jing Kong focused on his brother-in-law's right leg, observed seriously for a while, nodded, and solemnly affirmed, "Mm, it's really healed."
"You see, as soon as JiaoJiao came back, brother-in-law got better." Gu Xiaoshun called Gu Jiao ‘big sis’ when they were together, while he called her ‘JiaoJiao’ when he was with Little Jing Kong.
Little Jing Kong's naming, on the other hand, was never influenced by Gu Yan or Gu Xiaoshun, showing his independent strength.
"Brother-in-law!" Little Jing Kong called Xiao Heng, walked over, and raised his hand to touch him but found it too high. He brought a chair over, climbed on it, but was still unable to reach it.
"You, you come down a bit." He said.
“What are you up to?” Xiao Heng asked.
"Just come down a bit. I have something to tell you." Little Jing Kong said.
Today was New Year. Xiao Heng decided to give the little monk some face. He slightly bent down, meeting the little fellow’s gaze, "What is it?"
Little Jing Kong extended his hand and earnestly patted his shoulder. "Brother-in-law, you've finally overcome the obstacle and become a normal person. I'm genuinely happy for you."
One who offered excessive flattery without reason was hiding evil intentions.
Xiao Heng squinted at the little guy and asked, "What exactly do you want?"
After giving it some thought, Little Jing Kong honestly said, "I want to raise the rent."
Xiao Heng: "..."
When Gu Jiao woke up, the entire family already knew about Xiao Heng's leg recovery. They all thought that Xiao Heng had just gotten better this morning, and Yao shi and Yuya'er didn't say much to reveal anything.
After all, it was a joyous occasion.
Yao shi had calmed down after thinking the whole night. Initially, when she learned that her daughter had married a lame scholar from the countryside, it pained her deeply.
Her daughter was, after all, a Marquis Estate's daughter. If she had been raised by her side since childhood, she wouldn't have ended up marrying a poor boy with a disability.
She had once thought along those lines.
She accepted Xiao Heng for two reasons: firstly, she had never raised her daughter, so she had no right to meddle in her daughter's choice. Secondly, Xiao Heng's character and demeanor deeply appealed to her.
Thus, she comforted herself, thinking that even if her daughter married a more outstanding man, it might not necessarily lead to a better life. As long as her daughter was happy, she had no regrets.
However, the surprises this son-in-law gave her were just too much.
Not only did he pass the provincial-level imperial exam as the Jieyuan and enter the Imperial Academy, but he also ranked top in the palace-level imperial exam, becoming the youngest Zhuangyuan in the State of Zhao.
The only regret was his leg ailment, which now seemed to have disappeared.
How could Yao shi find it in her heart to confront Xiao Heng after this?
As for her daughter hiding the several life-threatening incidents on the border, Yao shi felt more pity than reproach.
The young couple had no idea that their crisis had quietly passed.
Gu Jiao came out of the east room and found Little Jing Kong sitting alone on the threshold of the front yard. His small stature, neatly trimmed mushroom-like hair, gave the impression of a lonely mushroom growing in the snow.
Approaching him, Gu Jiao bent down to look at him and asked, "Jing Kong, what are you doing here?"
Little Jing Kong turned his head and said to Gu Jiao, "I'm waiting for my master."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jiao remembered. Little Jing Kong's master came every year to celebrate his birthday. He had come last year too, although he hadn't met with anyone else, only leaving Little Jing Kong a birthday gift—— a deed to a State of Liang’s house, and then departing.
Sitting beside Little Jing Kong, Gu Jiao asked, "Did your master not come last night?"
"Mm." Little Jing Kong nodded with a somewhat downcast expression.
Gu Jiao patted his head and said, "This year, there was heavy snowfall in the State of Zhao. Your master, being old, might have found it inconvenient to go out, or perhaps he got delayed on the way."
Due to Little Jing Kong often referring to his master as “old man,” Gu Jiao's impression of the other party remained that of an old man with a white beard and a hunched back.
In such weather, even a young man would find it difficult to travel, let alone an elderly person.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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