Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Not wanting to distract Hua Yusen, Zhao Nuanyue put down the teapot and quietly slipped out.

’If this is useful for him, I should just let him focus on it,’ she thought. ’He might be able to use it later. For someone like him who’s always on missions, you can never have too many skills.’

As noon approached, Zhao Nuanyue prepared lunch, then got into the car driven by their bodyguard, Zhang Hong, to go pick up Little Red Carp.

The heavy snow was making drop-offs and pick-ups difficult, so the school had announced that if a family had someone to look after their child, they didn’t need to come in for the afternoon session. They could return once the snow stopped.

”Wow, Sister, it’s snowing!” Little Red Carp exclaimed. ”It’s coming down so hard! The ground will be covered in a thick blanket of snow by tomorrow. I can get up first thing in the morning and build a snowman.”

Hearing this, Zhao Nuanyue said, ”Okay, I’ll build a snowman with you tomorrow!”

”Mm-hmm!” Little Red Carp nodded. ”You’re the best, Sister!”

It was freezing today, which made Zhao Nuanyue think of the pickled greens she had at home. She asked Little Red Carp to fetch a large fish from the lake and simmered a pot of Fish with Pickled Greens, adding plenty of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. As they ate, both Zhao Nuanyue and Little Red Carp couldn’t help but exclaim how incredibly satisfying it was.

They didn’t just eat it themselves; they also sent a portion over to Zhang Hong and the others. Everyone ate some to warm up.

After eating the numbing and spicy fish with pickled greens, Zhang Hong and the others in the front courtyard broke out into a sweat, feeling completely invigorated.

Hua Yusen was still practicing his martial arts and hadn’t come out yet.

Zhao Nuanyue went to call him, but he still wouldn’t come out. It was as if he wasn’t the least bit hungry.

Looking at the food, which was about to get cold, Zhao Nuanyue frowned. ’This martial arts fanatic... he finds a good technique and completely forgets to eat. Is he trying to become an immortal or something?’

Little Red Carp, however, was eating with gusto. Her little mouth was bright red, and she kept panting from the heat while exclaiming how delicious it was.

”Oh, Sister, don’t be mad. Brother-in-law loves this stuff. Even if you dragged him over here to eat, he wouldn’t be happy,” Little Red Carp advised. ”You and my brother practice for self-defense, but Brother-in-law genuinely loves it. How else could he have become so skilled at such a young age?”

”But isn’t he hungry?” Zhao Nuanyue glanced toward the room where he was training. Through the open window, she could see Hua Yusen still practicing with grunts and shouts.

Little Red Carp rolled her eyes and said irritably, ”I’m not even full yet!”

”You have a huge bowl in front of you, and it’s still not enough?” Zhao Nuanyue, now in a bad mood herself, rolled her eyes back at Little Red Carp. ’This insatiable little thing.’

”Hmph!” Little Red Carp pouted. ”All you know is how to dote on your man!”

Zhao Nuanyue tapped Little Red Carp on the head and scolded playfully, ”You’re just a child, what nonsense are you spouting! Now, hurry up and eat!”

”Hmph!” Little Red Carp huffed even louder.

Seeing Little Red Carp’s defiant expression, Zhao Nuanyue got genuinely angry. She glared at her and said, ”You ungrateful little thing! There’s a big piece of cake in the cupboard that your brother-in-law bought just for you. Your brother and I didn’t touch it; we saved it all for you. Whenever he’s on leave, he’s always taking you out for treats. And what about you? The second you’re a little upset, you make such cutting remarks. If your brother-in-law heard that, he’d be heartbroken.”

After hearing her sister, Little Red Carp thought for a moment and said, ”Sister, I guess you’re right. Brother-in-law is really good to me. I shouldn’t be so mean.”

”Heh, well, it doesn’t really matter if you say it to me.” Seeing Little Red Carp suddenly stop contradicting her, Zhao Nuanyue actually found it a little strange. ”Just as long as your brother-in-law doesn’t hear you.”

”Haha!” Little Red Carp found her sister’s change of heart hilarious, and her own mood brightened. ”Oh, Sister, you really don’t need to worry. Remember what I told you before? Brother-in-law absorbed the Spiritual Power from the seashell, that’s why he can practice that boxing manual. And you definitely don’t need to worry about him being hungry. When he’s hungry, he’ll come and eat. The fact that he isn’t eating now just means he’s not hungry. If you go over there and drag him out to eat, you’ll just be interrupting his training. The gain isn’t worth the loss.”

Since Little Red Carp put it that way, Zhao Nuanyue had no choice but to nod. ”Alright, I won’t call him anymore.”

Zhao Nuanyue covered Hua Yusen’s food to keep it warm, deciding not to disturb him any further.

With her belly full, Little Red Carp started to get sleepy. Zhao Nuanyue took her back to her room and tucked her in, then sat beside the bed to read a book.

Only after Little Red Carp had fallen asleep did Hua Yusen drape a thick coat over his shoulders and come out to eat.

When Zhao Nuanyue saw Hua Yusen come out, she went to the kitchen to heat up the food for him.

Without a word, Hua Yusen started devouring bowl after bowl of rice soaked in the fish soup. Only after finishing two bowls did he begin to slowly eat the fish itself.

”Wow, Nuanyue, this fish is absolutely perfect,” Hua Yusen said with excitement. ”Back in Nianqiao Village, there was so much fish we could eat it all the time, and you always found new ways to cook it for us. But since we came to Jincheng City, I’ve barely had it.”

The pure smile on his face when he ate a meal he loved; the look of earnest, almost devout concentration when he practiced his martial arts; the solemn expression he wore while working—seeing all these different sides of him always filled Zhao Nuanyue with joy.

She was captivated by every version of Hua Yusen.

She had met the best of him in the best years of her life, and she got to see all his different sides.

His laughter, his tears, his sweat, and his love!

After he finished eating, Hua Yusen wasn’t like other husbands who did nothing around the house. Appreciating all of Zhao Nuanyue’s hard work, he immediately started clearing the table.

But Zhao Nuanyue, accustomed to always being busy, began to help him.

When Zhao Nuanyue started washing the dishes, Hua Yusen joined her. ’But... shouldn’t his hands be on the dishes? Why is he holding my hand instead?’

’It’s all greasy, but he doesn’t seem to mind how uncomfortable it is.’

But Hua Yusen paid no mind. With two people washing, the dishes should have been done faster, but at this rate, it was taking even longer than usual.

”Just let me do it,” Zhao Nuanyue said, shooting the troublemaking Hua Yusen a playful glare. ”With you fooling around, who knows when I’ll ever get these dishes finished.” Though she feigned anger, her eyes brimmed with a happy smile.

Hua Yusen, completely unconcerned, continued his antics. He seized the chance to plant a kiss on her cheek. ”I’m going to keep fooling around! What are you going to do about it?”

’Good grief, he’s just a grown-up version of that little brat, Little Red Carp!’

”Hmph. Maybe I can’t do anything to you now,” Zhao Nuanyue retorted with a sly smile, ”but I can banish you from my bed tonight. You’ll be sleeping on the couch. Then you won’t even get to touch my hand!”

”Hey now, Little Nuanyue, you can’t do that!” Hua Yusen protested. ”We’re husband and wife! And we’re still newlyweds! That’s just too cruel.” He had stopped his fooling around, though, and was now earnestly helping with the dishes.

Zhao Nuanyue might have only been joking, but Hua Yusen couldn’t help but take the threat seriously.