Chapter 89 – First Update

Chapter 89 - First Update

Qin Yao had figured out how to use her elder son's gift-giving skill, but she still didn't understand what "Life Force" meant when it came to her younger son, Mingming. At first, she guessed it might be related to plants, as if the flowers and plants he grew would grow wildly.

Qin Yao began experimenting with the flowers and vegetables in the yard. The day before, she used the "Life Force" skill on the plants. However, after a night passed, she checked the roses in the house and found that not only had they not grown well, but there were also a few red spider mites on the leaves.

Time to prune the leaves.

Qin Yao sighed. Roses were vigorous but also delicate, much like a "sick beauty" in a web novel—always getting sick but never dying.

They loved to get sick but refused to die.

Even if the leaves were covered with red spider mites, after cutting off all the leaves, in a few days, the plant would fully recover and sprout fresh new leaves and buds.

Qin Yao wasn't too worried about pests on the flowers, but she was diligent with the vegetables since they were meant to be eaten.

The mulberries by the door were growing well. After pruning the roses, Qin Yao also trimmed the mulberries. Her hair had been washed not long ago and now draped over her shoulders, basking in the warm evening sunlight.

Halfway through her pruning, Gu Cheng returned with someone. Upon closer inspection, Qin Yao realized it was Zhuo Liang, whom she had met once before.

Guessing that he had come over for a meal, Qin Yao decided to go to the grocery store to buy some food since there were guests. She asked Gu Cheng to entertain the guest and also help Shen Guixiang look after the child. However, Shen Guixiang waved her hand and said, "You two take care of the kids. I'll go out and grab some meat."

Qin Yao agreed. She asked Gu Cheng to watch the two babies while she boiled water to make tea.

The two children were still young and relatively easy to take care of. They couldn't run, jump, or speak yet. As long as their feeding schedule was maintained, they wouldn't cry or make a fuss unless it was time to nurse. At most, they would wail a couple of times.

Gu Cheng had been in a good mood lately. When Zhuo Liang asked him for help writing a recommendation letter, he didn't refuse. The two of them made an appointment to discuss the details.

In the past, such matters were usually discussed in the office or places like the basketball court or training track.

Now that Gu Cheng had free time, he preferred to stay home and didn't mind bringing people back. Having a meal and entertaining guests, a man with a family was indeed different.

"Your yard is quite beautiful," Zhuo Liang said, surprised to find that Gu Cheng's wife was truly beautiful. Her eyes were bright, her black hair lustrous. No wonder the two of them had fallen in love at first sight.

Gu Cheng lightly responded with a soft "Hmm," taking a small sip from his teacup without being overly polite or modest.

—The yard had been tidied up by him, the vines secured. As for the rest... sigh.

His wife just played around watering the plants and pruning the leaves for fun.

On this point, both Gu Cheng and Qin Yao had some mutual disdain for each other's habits. Whether it was training or gardening, Gu Cheng was used to making plans and risk assessments, knowing exactly how to plant and nurture, and when to fertilize. He even made Qin Yao a schedule for managing the yard and vegetable garden, expecting her to follow it meticulously.

But Qin Yao didn't. She felt that fertilizing a day earlier or later didn't make a noticeable difference. If she forgot one day, she'd push it to the next, and if she forgot again the next day... well, the day after that then.

Qin Yao had her reasons for doing this. She didn't do her dirty work according to a schedule but chose the days when she washed her hair.

Her hair was long, and she usually washed it every two or three days. Before washing her hair, she'd get herself as dirty as possible so she could enjoy a long, relaxing bath afterward.

After washing her hair, she didn't want to do any dirty work or clean the house, fearing her freshly washed hair would get dirty again.

And she would pick a day with good weather to wash her hair, so Qin Yao confidently declared, "I am following the natural timing; it cannot be predetermined."

After more than a year of marriage, the two still hadn't coordinated their habits but maintained their original routines without conflict.

Instructor Gu found himself constantly frustrated by his wife's habits. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change her ways. In fact, he had been influenced by Qin Yao's habits and adapted to her requests, allowing her to stay clean and fresh for a day or two after washing her hair. However, Captain Gu occasionally got mischievous, enjoying messing her up right after she had just washed her hair and bathed.

But after nearly two years, he still hadn't changed her habits—and, truth be told, she had changed some of his.

Living with a woman can come with its own set of challenges. Qin Yao’s hair-washing routine is a big deal, unlike Gu Cheng’s hair. His hair is so short, he could wash it every day. Men generally don’t make a point of washing their hair; they just rinse it while showering. But for Qin Yao, washing her hair has become a ritual.

Hair washing is still a minor issue; hair loss is the most serious problem.

Qin Yao has great hair, but even the best hair sheds. Her hair is long, and Gu Cheng still remembers watching Qin Yao comb her hair, leaving a pile of strands on the floor afterward.

Since joining the army in his teens, Gu Cheng had always lived with men. After living with a woman for a year, he found that women lose an alarming amount of hair.

Since getting married, it feels like her hair is everywhere in the house.

Currently, Qin Yao is the only one in the house with long hair, so she couldn’t deny it even if she wanted to.

Nowadays, Gu Cheng wouldn’t be shocked if he found a long strand of hair in his food—though it’s still pretty rare.

Qin Yao’s hair is omnipresent.

Even though he’s the one cooking, sometimes there’s still a strand of her hair wrapped in the dish.

Having a wife comes with both happiness and troubles intertwined.

Overall, the happiness outweighs the troubles.

Gu Cheng chatted with Zhuo Liang for a bit. The two babies in the stroller woke up and curiously looked at their father. Gu Cheng, used to this, picked up one while soothing the other still lying in the stroller.

The older brother, Rui Rui, was always more laid-back. Holding his older son, Gu Cheng watched as his younger son, without any help, drooled and rolled over from his back to his stomach like a little turtle. The baby could flip back and forth and play for a long time, his little fists full of energy.

Though Gu Cheng sometimes found his son frustrating, he loved him deeply. He had even personally made two tiger-patterned dolls for his sons, hanging them on the stroller for the two little ones to throw around and play with.

Taking care of the two children had become second nature to him.

People usually think men are rough and women are detail-oriented, but that’s not always true. Some men are meticulous, and some women are careless. It’s the difference between individuals, not genders.

Gu Cheng was a meticulous person, considering all aspects in whatever he did, and he was especially thorough in taking care of the children.

As a post-00s generation, Qin Yao subscribed to the philosophy of “as long as the child is alive, that’s good enough.” With two sons, she secretly thought about getting a small cart so that her sons could pull her around while she sat on it.

She wanted to conserve her energy by letting the kids do the work.

Unfortunately, this era didn’t have those children’s scooters. Qin Yao missed the days in college when she and her roommates would ride scooters around the campus.

“That’s about it. I know what to write now,” Gu Cheng said after finishing the main discussion with Zhuo Liang, then skillfully changed his son’s diaper.

He’d gotten really good at changing diapers without making his son cry or getting himself messy.

Zhuo Liang watched him with surprise and said, “Gu Cheng, you have this skill too?”

Gu Cheng replied lightly, “After years of researching this technique, would something so small still be difficult for me?”

“If you’re interested, I can tell you more about my techniques.”

Zhuo Liang: “……”

He expected Gu Cheng to complain about fatherhood, but instead, Gu Cheng offered to share his “technical research experience.”

“Alright,” Gu Cheng agreed and began to enthusiastically explain his current research to Zhuo Liang. In fact, Gu Cheng had always loved sharing his expertise, both at work and in life.

Currently, Gu Cheng has summarized his experience in researching childcare, diaper changing, and being a dad, but he hasn’t found anyone to share these insights with yet.

The children of Political Commissar Zhou next door are all grown up, and it’s been many years since he last changed a diaper. As for Gao Jianguo, with all the women in his house, he never gets a chance to hold his daughter. Gu Cheng wasn’t about to go asking him for advice.

Zhuo Liang, on the other hand, would be a great person to share this stuff with. After all, he’s not married and clueless about this stuff, so even if he says something wrong, it doesn’t matter.

Additionally, Gu Cheng was interested in hearing Zhuo Liang’s opinions. This guy was obsessed with academic performance back in the day and valued "data" even more than Gu Cheng did. This was clear from how he approached finding a wife—he believed he could "quantitatively analyze" the process of finding a partner. Even though Gu Cheng didn’t buy into his data-driven approach to finding a wife, he did acknowledge the method.

At the end of the day, men like to stick to what the numbers tell them.

"What you’re saying actually makes a lot of sense," Zhuo Liang said, surprised to hear Gu Cheng’s experience in raising two children and his analysis of their behavioral patterns.

This included how to hold a baby, burp them, and change their diapers—Gu Cheng had actually conducted a detailed analysis. But his sample size was tiny, so who knows if his findings would work for everyone.

Overall, raising a kid takes a lot of know-how, which Zhuo Liang fully agreed with.

At the same time, Zhuo Liang’s competitive streak and inner nerd kicked in. If Gu Cheng could do it, Zhuo Liang figured he could do it just as well. He was determined not to lose to Gu Cheng.

Now that he had learned all this infant care knowledge, all he needed was an actual baby to test it on. After all, no matter how much theoretical knowledge one has, it needs to be put into practice to test its feasibility.

Qin Yao came down with a box of peach cookies. Seeing the serious expressions on Gu Cheng and Zhuo Liang’s faces, she thought they were discussing work matters. But after listening for a moment…

Qin Yao started to wonder if they were both out of their minds.