1987 My Era

Chapter 631, Between Gains and Losses

the other side.

On the way out of Lushan Village, Xiao Han stared intently at the figure ahead, her lips slightly pursed like a crescent moon, radiating joy.

She was overjoyed that her honey was able to face Shen Xin and Yu Shuheng and her daughter directly today.

First, he gave up going to the capital to wait for Chen Zijin and Song Yu in order to pursue her. Now, with the situation we have today, Xiao Han asked herself: What more could I ask for in this life than to meet a man who treats me like this?

Regardless of how many women he has slept with, or how many entanglements he has with his female confidantes, even with a thousand kinds of helplessness and grievances, at this moment, he is still the same loving man she fell in love with back then, and he is perfect in her eyes.

Now that things have come to this, she doesn't want to dwell on why he slept in the same bed with Yu Shuheng last night. Because they definitely didn't have sex, and that's enough.

She knew that relentlessly pursuing every question was not a good strategy and would only make her lose points with him.

Surrounded by formidable enemies, Xiao Han knew that nothing should be done in excess, so he naturally stopped when he had the upper hand and knew when to quit while he was ahead.

No matter how things change, no matter the gains or losses, nothing is as satisfying as him holding her hand in front of a group of rivals. With that one hand, she let go of everything.

He was willing to stand up to the powerful Yu family for his own sake, and he even abandoned the beautiful and intelligent Yu Shuheng. What else could he not let go of?

What else is there to hold onto?

Why keep harping on his flaws?

How many young men in the world can remember the former lovers with whom they once spent romantic evenings and whispered sweet nothings?

Moreover, Yu Shuheng is no less beautiful or elegant than him in every way. She is a university teacher at Fudan University, the only daughter of the Yu family, and she takes care of everything for him like a housekeeper.

Even if he lost some emotionally and shared some with Yu Shuheng, his heart was still with him. He still remembered his kindness and affection. What was there to be upset about?

What's the point of gaining so much if you lose his heart?
Thinking of this, Xiao Han suddenly realized something: why hadn't Yu Shuheng had a relationship with him yet? It was probably because she was thinking the same thing—what was the point if she hadn't won his heart?
She muttered to herself: So, Yu Shuheng is extremely ambitious, isn't she? She wants to win her honey's heart? She wants to marry him openly and legitimately?
Xiao Han stared at the back of Li Heng's head, her thoughts involuntarily drifting to Song Yu and Zhou Shihe.

Song Yu was his favorite.

Zhou Shihe once prayed at Jing'an Temple: "May I win the heart of one person."

Ha! Song Yu, oh Song Yu! Zhou Shihe, oh Zhou Shihe! You can deal with Yu Shuheng, that wild wolf. This beauty will be in charge of having romantic time with my honey.

You mustn't let me down.

After leaving Lushan Village, Li Heng led her to a nearby meadow, sat down, and took the breakfast from her hand to eat.

Neither of them spoke; the atmosphere was extremely quiet!
But as he kept eating beef noodles and tofu pudding, feelings silently lingered and spread in the air.

At one point, Li Heng, with a mouthful of beef, looked up and asked her, "Have you had breakfast?"

Xiao Han nodded.

Li Heng asked, "Would you like a couple of pieces of beef?"

Xiao Han shook her head.

Li Heng paused for a moment, then spoke again: "About last night, do you want me to offer a sophistry?"

Xiao Han smiled and shook her head.

Li Heng finished eating the beef in his mouth, then picked up another piece, chewed it, stared at the grass, and said:
"I'm selfish. I'm greedy. I've hurt one person after another. I had a relationship with Zijing, I fell in love with Song Yu at first sight, I didn't reject Teacher Yu's pursuit, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was suddenly sealed shut.

Xiao Han leaned over and kissed him with her small red lips.

Li Heng stared blankly at her.

Looking at her beautiful, sweet smiling eyes, her delicate, jade-carved nose, her exquisite features, and the corners of her mouth that kissed him, he was both cute and charming.

Seeing that he didn't move, Xiao Han playfully complained in a low voice, "Mr. Li, why are you spacing out? Did this beauty's kiss not come across as sincere enough?"

Li Heng said, "My mouth is full of red oil."

"I know! I know! Out of all the women in the world, I'm the only one who doesn't mind your lips being covered in red oil. Just give me a straight answer, will you kiss me or not?" Xiao Han smiled sweetly, tilted her head slightly and stared straight at him, her eyes full of encouragement.

They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, and Li Heng slowly leaned in, his lips moving as he passionately kissed her.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Xiao Han half-reclined in his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck, her eyes closed, her red lips perfectly matching his.

Li Heng also put down his chopsticks, hugged her tightly, and greedily demanded more.

After an unknown amount of time, when the two of them could no longer breathe, Xiao Han finally pulled away from his mouth, pressed her face against his, and said obediently, "Mr. Li, I am your woman, in this life and in the next."

Li Heng's breathing became heavier, and he hugged her even tighter. "Wife, I'm sorry."

Xiao Han asked with her eyes closed, "What did you call me?"

Li Heng said, "Wife."

Xiao Han teased him happily, "Speak louder, I didn't hear you."

Li Heng raised his voice: "Wife!"

"Pfft~!"

An untimely laugh interrupted their tender moment, startling Xiao Han so much that she hurriedly buried her head tightly in his chest, as if afraid of being recognized.

Li Heng looked up and, hearing the sound, realized that a group of girls had appeared to his left and front at some point. Some he knew, and some he didn't.

Those I know, such as Russell, a junior in law school.

There were even more people I didn't recognize—one, two, three, four, five—a total of five. It's probably a whole dorm that came out together.

The one who just laughed was one of the slightly chubby girls.

Seeing Li Heng looking over, the slightly chubby girl immediately stopped smiling and apologized repeatedly, "Senior, we were just taking pictures around campus, we didn't mean to bother you."

Li Heng was frustrated. This place was already quite remote, yet someone still managed to bump into him.

He didn't say anything, but just looked at Russell, whom he knew.

Last night, because of Li Xian, Russell had eaten noodles with her at the same table, but immediately led the way to another place.

As soon as Russell left, the others immediately followed suit, their legs moving so fast they were afraid their senior would hold a grudge and remember their faces.

Once the chaotic footsteps had faded into the distance, Xiao Han asked in a muffled voice, "Are they gone?"

Li Heng said, "Let's go."

Xiao Han then raised her head, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her right hand, and said with a smile, "So they're just small fry. We should have continued kissing earlier. They're so envious of these single dogs."

Li Heng was amused and couldn't help but burst into laughter while hugging her.

Despite their words, their location had been exposed, so the two didn't linger in that run-down place. After finishing their rice noodles and tofu pudding, they went to Chunhua Rice Noodle Shop together.

Tacitly, neither of them mentioned returning to Lushan Village now.

Li Heng's silence was giving Mai Sui space; he knew what Mai Sui was thinking without even asking.

Xiao Han didn't reply because she understood her man's thoughts and didn't want to publicly break ties with Mai Sui now.

"Oh my god! Sister-in-law, why are you back again? Didn't you just take a bowl of rice noodles with you?" Seeing Xiao Han return, the dim-witted girl hurriedly came over to greet her.

Among Li Heng's female confidantes, Zhang Zhiyong was most afraid of Song Yu, Zhou Shihe, and Yu Shuheng. He basically dared not speak when he saw these three.

Even though he was a bit dim-witted, he was afraid of Xiao Han. But after all, they had known each other for so many years, and Xiao Han would talk to him and Yang Cheng when she was in a good mood, so his fear was not that great.

Of course, in his dim-witted mind, Xiao Han will most likely become his sister-in-law in the future, so he is exceptionally attentive.

Xiao Han cleared her throat and said, "Husband and wife follow each other."

"Gah gah gah..." The simpleton made a goose-like honking sound, his face full of flattery.

It was just past 9 o'clock, and the store was bustling with people. Looking around, Li Heng was stunned for a moment, and he actually ran into an acquaintance, Wu Siyao.

I have to say, this world is damn small, how could I run into something like this?
Wu Siyao was eating pork rib noodles. She had seen Li Heng a long time ago, but her attention was not on Li Heng, but on Xiao Han. She kept secretly sizing up Xiao Han from top to bottom and bottom to top.

If it weren't for Zhou Shihe, I might have been able to use my body and sincerity to try my luck. I wouldn't say I could take Xiao Han down from her position as my official girlfriend, but I could at least compete for Li Heng's position as his confidante, Wu Siyao thought.

She knew Xiao Han was prettier than her, but Wu Siyao, as a campus belle at Tongji University, naturally had her own pride. However, after meeting Zhou Shihe, she lost her spirit, feeling that the other could completely overwhelm her, leaving her with no will to resist.

This is also why Wu Siyao reduced the frequency of taking the bus after seeing Zhou Shihe on the bus at the beginning of the year.

Unless I suddenly miss Li Heng terribly, I'll only come to Chunhua Noodle Shop to try my luck.

That's right, Wu Siyao made a special trip from Tongji University because she heard that this noodle shop was related to Li Heng.

Wu Siyao's companion whispered, "Stop looking. Xiao Han has discovered you're trying to steal her man."

Xiao Han did notice Wu Siyao's unusual behavior. Then, she smiled, revealing a small dimple, and took Li Heng's arm as they went upstairs to the living room.

Both the upper and lower floors are idiotic. Since the first floor is full of customers, I can only go up to the second floor to sit.

As the others went upstairs, Wu Siyao, who had only eaten half of her noodles, suddenly put down her chopsticks, stood up, and walked towards the door.

My companion exclaimed, "Hey! What are you doing? My bowl of noodles just arrived, and I've only just started eating!"

Wu Siyao ignored her and walked away on her own.

His companion, exasperated, stomped his foot and shouted, "Hey! You said you'd treat us! Otherwise, why would I come all this way with you? Pay up!"

Wu Siyao had already left the store.

Everyone in the shop looked at their companion.

The companion was extremely frustrated and said to the dim-witted mother, "Auntie, I forgot to bring my money. Can I give it to you next time?"

The simple-minded mother said with a kind expression, "Girl, it's alright."

To gain their trust, her companion secretly added, "My classmate and that famous writer are old acquaintances, so don't worry, Auntie, I'll pay for it."

The simple-minded mother looked up at the ceiling, smiled, and said, "Okay."

Her companion, furious, chased after Wu Siyao out of the noodle shop, catching up to her and saying, "Wu Siyao! What are you doing! I've lost all face! You're taking your heartbreak out on me, I'm going crazy! I'm breaking up with you!" Wu Siyao ignored her companion's words and suddenly retorted, "You think even if I used all my charm, could I at least take a bite out of Li Heng?"

My companion leaned over and asked, "Hey! Which one do you want to bite? The big head, the turtle's head, or the toes?"

My companion is a medical student and is extremely familiar with human anatomy.

Wu Siyao was a little dizzy, and she slapped her companion's head open, looking extremely depressed.

Your companion asked, "Why would you think that? Is it because Xiao Han ignored you that you want to fight back with your body? That's so stupid!"

Wu Siyao countered, "If there are two choices: A, Li Heng willingly sleeps with you; B, he gives you…."

Her companion interrupted her, shouting repeatedly, "AAA! Who needs a B if they can sleep with Li Heng? Who wouldn't want to try out a guy like that?"

After she finished speaking, her companion asked, "Woman, you don't actually intend to put this into practice, do you?"

Wu Siyao remained silent, staring straight ahead as she walked quickly forward.

....
the other side.

Xiao Han asked the dimwitted man, "Zhang Zhiyong, what month was Chunhua born?"

Zhang Zhiyong twisted his finger and said, "The obstetrician said it will be from the end of May to the beginning of June."

Xiao Han asked curiously, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Zhang Zhiyong couldn't contain his joy and said, "A girl! The old man spent a huge red envelope to get this news from the doctor."

Seeing his expression, Xiao Han asked with a smile, "You prefer girls?"

"Of course! It would be so much better if the girl looked like Sister Chunhua. She looks like me with my shifty face, not good-looking at all." Zhang Zhiyong rubbed his hands together and chuckled, as proud as could be.

Xiao Han cleared her throat and said, "However, according to genetics, girls tend to resemble their fathers more."

"Holy crap! Is that really how it's said?" Zhang Zhiyong froze on the spot, looking constipated.

Li Heng picked up an orange, peeled it, and put two segments into Xiao Han's mouth. "Alright, wife, stop teasing Lao Yong. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, or who the child resembles, as long as the child is healthy and happy."

Zhang Zhiyong asked Li Heng, "Old Heng, if I have a daughter, how about she becomes your daughter-in-law?"

Li Heng continued to feed Xiao Han oranges, saying, "Ask your sister-in-law; she'll decide."

Xiao Han rolled her eyes at her honey, thinking to herself, "How can that be? If the girl looks like she's stupid, wouldn't we be at a huge disadvantage?"

Xiao Han smiled sweetly and said, "You're so naive. I advise you to give up on this idea. My future son will definitely be just like his father—handsome and a womanizer. If you don't care about your daughter, then marry into the family."

"Damn! If she's like Uncle Heng, I'd rather not marry her..." Zhang Zhiyong hadn't finished speaking when Li Heng kicked him over with a big foot.

The idiot could only grumble as he got up, bent down and brushed the dust off with his hands, without mentioning a word about marrying off his daughter.

Xiao Han couldn't help but laugh, and asked Li Heng for some oranges to eat.

Undeterred, Zhang Zhiyong asked again, "Old Heng, do girls really resemble their fathers more?"

Li Heng gestured with his chin towards Xiao Han: "Do you think my wife looks more like my mother-in-law or Uncle Xiao?"

Zhang Zhiyong scratched his head: "My sister-in-law looks like Aunt Wei."

Li Heng then asked, "Who does my second sister resemble?"

The bitter look on Zhang Zhiyong's face disappeared, replaced by hearty laughter: "Second Sister and Aunt Tian were having their faces checked, and I was just saying, how could a girl possibly look like her father? Song Yu, Chen Zijin, Teacher Yu, they all look like their mothers..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the dim-witted man suddenly sensed something was off. He shrank back, avoiding Xiao Han's eyes, and quickly made up an excuse, "There are a lot of customers today, I have to go help out," and slipped away.

As Zhang Zhiyong fled into the distance, Xiao Han pouted her cute lips and said, "Hmph, he escaped quickly. He really is a fool."

Li Heng kept his eyes down, seemingly lost in thought, refusing to engage or respond to any conversation.

After spending about an hour at the noodle shop, Li Heng took Xiao Han back to Lushan Village.

Somewhat coincidentally, Li Wang happened to bring over a ginkgo seedling.

My cousin is so thoughtful; she even included a shovel and a hoe.

Xiao Han was quite happy. She circled the ginkgo sapling again and again, and finally handed the hoe to Li Heng, saying crisply, "Mr. Li, please be kind to your wife and let's plant the tree."

"Hey, that's good."

Li Heng rolled up his sleeves, took the hoe, and asked, "Which spot should we plant it in?"

Xiao Han seemed to have a plan in mind. Pointing to the previously withered ginkgo tree, her competitive spirit flared up: "This? I don't believe it can't be planted."

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Li Heng nodded and started digging the hole.

Li Wang stood to the side and asked, "Your yard is quite big. Do you need any other flowers or plants? I can bring them over for you."

Xiao Han looked around, somewhat tempted, but then thought that her husband was always busy and probably wouldn't have time to tend to the flowers and plants. Besides, the villa on Wukang Road was over 1600 square meters; her desire to grow flowers and plants could be fully satisfied there.

So she said, "Never mind, the grass is pretty too."

Li Heng spoke up: "We can cultivate a vegetable garden in the southwest corner. Cousin, could you send me some cabbage seeds? I love eating tender cabbage seedlings."

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Li Wang left, driving off to buy cabbage seeds.

Li Heng spent the entire morning planting trees and vegetables, with Xiao Han and Li Wang assisting him; they were all very busy.

Zhou Shihe and Mai Sui watched all this quietly from the attic of No. 27, without coming down to join in the fun.

Sun Manning and Ye Ning, on the other hand, kept whispering to each other.

Sun Manning leaned on the railing and said, "I bet this ginkgo tree won't live more than six months."

Zhou Shihe, Mai Sui, and Ye Ning looked at Sun Manning.

Ye Ning asked, "Why do you say that?"

Sun Manning lowered her voice and said, "Look across, Teacher Yu's mother's face is filled with murderous intent."

Upon hearing this, Mai Sui, Zhou Shihe, and Ye Ning turned to look at Building No. 25. At this moment, Shen Xin was watching the man and woman planting trees from the second-floor balcony.

Ye Ning observed for a while but didn't notice anything amiss. She asked, "Where's the murderous aura? You're just talking nonsense. The person's expression is perfectly calm."

Sun Manning sniffed: "You're a newbie, you don't understand. Old Lu once said it well: 'If you don't erupt in silence, you perish in silence.' I bet this tree won't live for more than half a year, it just won't live for more than half a year."

Ye Ning asked, "What are we betting on?"

Sun Manning rolled her eyes. "Whoever loses has to be a maid for a month. She'll do all the laundry, cooking, mopping, eating, drinking, and sleeping with us."

Ye Ning glanced at Mai Sui, then at Shen Xin, and thought that neither Mai Sui, Shen Xin, nor Teacher Yu would do such a treacherous thing as secretly killing the tree, so she readily agreed.

After making the bet, Sun Manning grinned smugly and said to Mai Sui, "Hey, Mai Sui! This time you'd better have some backbone and not water that tree."

Mai Sui and Song Yu are similar types of people—kind-hearted—and they seem somewhat conflicted at this moment. She can disregard Xiao Han's feelings, but Li Heng…

As if knowing what her best friend was thinking, Zhou Shihe immediately came to her rescue, smiling and jokingly saying, "It's not that you can't water them, you can water them more."

Sun Manning clapped her hands vigorously, "I agree, this is a good idea, a brilliant idea! We can water it more. When Mai Sui is tired, I can take over for you."

Ye Ning sensed something was wrong and quickly interjected, "I object! You're cheating! Watering more won't kill it? Then I'll lose miserably!"

Sun Manning put her hands on her hips and choked Ye Ning with a single question: "So, do you hope Mai Sui and Li Heng get together? Or do you hope Xiao Han and Li Heng get together?"

"I...I...Oh my god, Sun Manning, you little devil, you tricked me."

Ye Ning was furious: "Of course I hope that Sui Sui and Li Heng will get married and have children. I don't support any other women."

Sun Manning reached out and patted Ye Ning on the shoulder, saying smugly, "That's right, except for Mai Sui, all other women can go to hell! Anyone who dares to steal a man from our Mai Sui, I despise her and spit on her to death."

After venting her anger, Sun Manning silently atoneed in her heart: Song Yu, I wasn't talking about you. If you married Li Heng, I would be especially happy for you. And Chen Zijin, we're good friends too, and you're not in this group. And, and, and Chen Lijun, I know you're a slut who has a crush on Li Heng. Sigh, although you're unlucky and it's impossible for you, you're an exception, right? Who told me to be so soft-hearted?

Ye Ning chimed in, "That's right! That's how it should be. Anyone who dares to steal our Sui Sui's man is really overestimating themselves."

Mai Sui felt a little embarrassed by the two women's back-and-forth banter.

Zhou Shihe glanced at Sun Manning without leaving a trace, then at Ye Ning, before looking at Li Heng next door who was planting bok choy, remaining quiet and still.

While planting trees, Xiao Han kept an eye on the movements of her three main rivals in love.

However, Yu Shuheng did not show her face outside today. Instead, she was reading in the living room, waiting for someone to come and fix the landline phone.

Seeing Zhou Shihe looking this way from the attic, Xiao Han kept thinking of one sentence: "May I win the heart of one person."

Thinking of those six words, she felt a surge of displeasure, thinking to herself: "I'll let you dream a little longer, and then I'll give you a good slap on the head and a big surprise."

At the same time, Xiao Han glanced at Li Heng and thought to herself: "Sigh, I'm so unlucky. If I could do seventy-two transformations, I'd really like to turn Honey into a big pig's trotter and gnaw on it every day. When I get tired of gnawing on it, I'd turn him into a gorilla and throw him on Zhou Shihe's bed to scare her to death."

Zhou Shihe is so frail, she'd be sickly if she were scared. Could she withstand my husband's whip?

As she pondered this, Xiao Han suddenly chuckled to herself. She had personally experienced her man's vigorous energy, like the Yellow River flowing endlessly from the heavens—something an ordinary woman simply couldn't handle. If she couldn't manage it, she didn't believe Zhou Shihe could.

Thinking about whether it would work, Xiao Han extended his thoughts to the extremely charming Mai Sui. Perhaps, among his many female confidantes, Mai Sui was probably the only one who could handle him in a one-on-one situation.

Thinking of this, Xiao Han frowned and looked up at the wheat ears on the neighboring attic. They were truly like Su Daji reincarnated, becoming more beautiful and charming every day, almost changing every day, with a transformation speed beyond imagination.

I remember during high school, although Mai Sui was graceful and charming, and had the beginnings of a top-tier beauty, she was still obviously immature and naive. This is why Mai Sui was not as famous as her and Song Yu in terms of beauty.

Now, several years have passed, and Mai Sui is still the same Mai Sui, but she is no longer the same Mai Sui. It seems that she has undergone a complete transformation. If this continues, in another two or three years, will Mai Sui's beauty really be inferior to that of herself and Teacher Yu and others?
And what about that alluring, inner charm?

For no apparent reason, Xiao Han suddenly felt a sense of danger, sensing danger from Mai Sui for the first time.

Perhaps everyone was wrong from the beginning, focusing too much on Song Yu, Yu Shuheng, and Zhou Shihe, while ignoring the quietly growing Mai Sui.

Xiao Han cursed her husband inwardly: What a jerk! He can't believe he's so lucky. Every woman he picks up by his side is such a beauty.

Xiao Han in this life is unaware of the scene in the previous life: After Mai Sui turned 25, even Song Yu, who was always indifferent and detached, began to be on guard, fearing that Li Heng would fall in love with Mai Sui and that he would spend all his time lying in Mai Sui's bed and no longer care about worldly affairs.

From this, one can imagine just how alluring Mai Sui must be, possessing an inner charm that has reached its peak.

(End of this chapter)