Chapter 30

Chapter 30

After Mrs. Huo left, Gao Mingzhu felt a heavy weight in her heart.

She couldn't let this go on any longer; she had to find out who Old Huo's mistress was as soon as possible!

That evening, she quietly hid near Old Huo's house, planning to stake the place out.

But after spending half the night getting eaten by mosquitoes and worrying about Huo Huaichuan at home, she finally headed back.

She didn't know that Old Huo had slipped out ages ago and sneaked back in after she left, so she missed her chance to catch him in the act.

The next morning, Gao Mingzhu used spiritual spring water to cook a pot of porridge.

She originally wanted to fry some eggs, but remembering that eggs don't need water and fearing they'd burn, she simply dropped them into the porridge—quick and convenient.

The porridge made with spiritual spring water was indeed extraordinary; the rice grains were crystal clear and soft, and even the eggs had no fishy smell, with a mouthwatering smell filling the room.

Huo Huaichuan took a spoonful and ate it, then glanced at Gao Mingzhu, who was also drinking porridge beside him, and said, "This is good."

Yesterday, because Gao Mingzhu had been startled by the hot oil, he had yelled at her to stop fussing over him, which had truly angered her. From last night until now, she had been cold and standoffish toward him!

At this moment, Gao Mingzhu shot him a quick glance and said flatly, "If it's good, drink more. You're so skinny."

Seeing his slightly cautious demeanor, she softened a little, but kept a straight face and didn't smile.

She had to make him understand that she cared about his pain and suffering, but she also had her temper, and she wouldn't put up with his bad moods forever just because he was injured.

Even if he didn't want to endure hardship with her, he wasn't going to change her, and he had no right to treat her like that!

After finishing the porridge, Gao Mingzhu grabbed a hoe and headed out to work on the two little garden plots behind the house.

The garden patch was directly opposite the window of their room.

As Gao Mingzhu bent over to hoe, she felt a gaze stuck on her.

Looking up, she indeed saw Huo Huaichuan in his wheelchair, watching her from behind the window.

"Why are you staring at me?" Gao Mingzhu straightened up and wiped her forehead.

To work, she had deliberately put on her oldest, roughest work clothes today and wore a big bamboo hat to keep the sun off her.

Sweat dripped down her temples, and the towel around her neck was mostly wet.

This outfit made her look like a farmhand, but her porcelain-white skin, delicate features, and obviously clumsy, awkward movements made her look like a spoiled rich girl slumming it in the fields, completely out of place in the dirt.

Huo Huaichuan's gaze lingered on her sweat-dampened temples and the mud-stained hem of her clothes, his eyes darkening.

When he didn't answer, Gao Mingzhu added, "If you have nothing to do, just read a book. This little work won't wear me out."

Speaking of which, she remembered the books on aerospace she had asked Guo Tao to find, wondering when they'd show up.

Huo Huaichuan had a genius-level IQ; otherwise, he wouldn't have been accepted into flight school at such a young age, becoming a promising Air Force pilot.

In her previous life, after his legs were broken, everyone wrote him off!

But what happened later?

Using his brilliant mind, he clawed his way out of despair to become one of the biggest names in aerospace, in top positions and winning award after award!

She later learned that during those darkest days, he had indeed been in a slump for a while.

Besides reading and listening to the radio, he immersed himself in calculations and deductions, eventually shocking the National Defense Science and Technology Commission with a formula that launched his scientific legend.

Although Gao Mingzhu had studied economics and management abroad, influenced by her family, she had a natural respect for these scientists who built weapons for the country.

In this life, she not only wanted to live well with him but also to help him get on that glorious path early!

However, these words sounded to Huo Huaichuan more like, "You're useless as a cripple, so go read your book."

He tightened his grip on the book pages, a wave of irritation hitting him.

He lowered his head, forcing himself to look at the page, but the words wouldn't sink in, and his gaze kept drifting uncontrollably toward the figure toiling under the scorching sun outside the window.

Gao Mingzhu was indeed not cut out for farm work.

After half a day of effort, she had only managed to hoe a small patch, and she was already panting from exhaustion—her stamina could hold out, but the sun was just too brutal.

Add to that the intense gaze from inside the house, which made her extremely uncomfortable.

Forget it, she decided not to push herself or torment him.

She called it quits for now and would continue in the afternoon.

Just as she entered the main room to get some water, Huo Huaichuan had already wheeled himself out. His deep, ink-black eyes locked onto her face, his brows furrowed into a knot: "Red."

Her face was sunburned red!

Gao Mingzhu raised her hand to touch her cheek; it was indeed very hot.

Her skin was naturally fair and delicate, and nourished by the spiritual spring water, it was especially sensitive, turning red noticeably with just a little sun exposure.

She waved her hand helplessly: "It's fine, it'll be better by tonight."

"It won't," Huo Huaichuan said firmly.

During his military training, he had often been exposed to the scorching sun, and he knew better than anyone the consequences of skin damage. Red like this, it wouldn't fade in a few days, and it would peel and darken.

Others might have a hard time recovering, but she had the spiritual spring water!

Gao Mingzhu was confident and said to him with certainty, "My skin is different from most people's. It really will heal; you'll see tonight."

With that, she took her cup to the kitchen to drink some spiritual spring water! After finishing, she also brought out a cup and handed it to Huo Huaichuan.

Huo Huaichuan looked at the cup of water: "..." He wasn't thirsty!

But he still silently took it and downed it in one gulp.

"Getting more obedient by the day! Keep it up!" Gao Mingzhu was very pleased.

"..." Huo Huaichuan pressed his lips together, his deep eyes silently fixed on her, carrying a hint of barely perceptible protest.

He didn't like being spoken to in this coaxing, childlike tone.

Gao Mingzhu found it amusing inside.

Really! Right after they got married, he wished she would treat him like a treasure and dote on him, but now that he was disabled, he didn't like it anymore.

It was all because of his pride!

She said, "Have you been feeling any better these past couple of days?"

After all that spiritual spring water, there should be at least some effect, right?

Sure enough, Huo Huaichuan nodded, his tone calm but with a hint of warmth he himself hadn't noticed: "Mm, much better."

"That's good!" Gao Mingzhu's face immediately lit up, deeply relieved. "Maybe one day, you'll be able to stand up!"

The second he heard the words "stand up," Huo Huaichuan's expression, which had just eased, darkened again, his eyes dimming.

Gao Mingzhu noticed the change in him. She crouched down and looked up at him.

Her face, sunburned red but still strikingly beautiful. Her gaze was earnest, her voice soothing and encouraging: "Huaichuan, don't lose heart. I believe in you—I know you can get back on your feet! When you feel more comfortable in your body and in a better mood, let's do rehabilitation exercises together, okay?"

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