Chapter 8: Time to Fulfill the Promise, Wife

Chapter 8: Time to Keep My Promise, Wife

Chu Lanting read the expression on his face.

He knew it was what he had said that morning that had hurt him.

He held out the half-eaten piece of bread he hadn't finished, his slightly long hair hiding ears that were turning warm.

"As long as you don't do that kind of thing again, we can get along just fine, right?"

"I don't mind how much you eat. If you don't mind, you can have my portion too—I'm full."

That morning, he had been backed into a corner.

Having grown up in poor conditions, scraping through college on scholarships, part-time gigs, and government aid, he was already studying for the civil service exam before he even graduated.

Once he entered society and became a teacher, he had even less time to himself.

So Chu Lanting had never even thought about dating.

He'd had people pursue him before, but he'd always politely declined, saying his situation wasn't good enough and he couldn't drag them down with him.

He'd never wondered if the person he'd spend his life with would be a man or a woman, or if he'd just end up alone.

When Pei Du barged into his life, calling him "wife" the second he opened his mouth, and then doing that to him...

Even with Chu Lanting's easygoing nature, he couldn't handle that kind of situation.

Now, seeing Pei Du repeatedly frightened by his words about kicking him out, Chu Lanting decided to back down a little.

As long as Pei Du kept a certain distance from him, he wouldn't mistreat him—he'd feed him and wouldn't kick him out.

The bread hovered in the air for a long while before Chu Lanting finally heard Pei Du speak again.

"I won't do it anymore. Wife doesn't like it, so I'll listen to wife. I swear I won't do it again."

"I won't eat it. Wife should eat. Wife's too skinny."

Chu Lanting really was thin—whether it was his original body before transmigrating into the book or this one after.

Even the hand holding the bread had slender wrists and bony knuckles, like a light squeeze could snap them.

Hearing Pei Du's answer, he let out a quiet sigh of relief, then held the bread out again: "But I'm already full. You're hurt—you should eat more so you can heal faster."

Once he was full, he'd have the strength to get his memories back.

Seeing the hesitation in Pei Du's eyes, he grabbed his hand and pressed the small piece of bread into his palm.

"Save the rest for tomorrow. Don't go outside while I'm gone. If you get lost, I wouldn't have a clue where to find you."

Chu Lanting remembered that in the original novel, Pei Du kept in touch with his men through a device called a light screen.

But 207 was too godforsaken—forget light screens, even the power lines would cut out every so often. At night, all anyone could do was lie in bed—there was nothing else to do.

"I promise I won't run off. Wife, you really can't take me with you?"

Pei Du wolfed his food down.

The bread that Chu Lanting could barely choke down and had almost no taste became easy to chew for Pei Du.

Watching him scarf down the bread in two or three bites, Chu Lanting poured him a glass of water.

"Slow down, don't choke. I'll ask the factory boss tomorrow—if he says yes, you can come once you're healed up."

Chu Lanting wasn't too comfortable leaving Pei Du home alone either.

The original owner was a local. When troublemakers came around, he could dodge them well enough, or get someone to help if things got rough.

But Pei Du was different—especially since there was someone in town with a crush on the original owner who'd show up at the door every so often...

Keeping Pei Du close and having him do simple, easy work—that way he wouldn't have to support the household alone, and later, when Pei Du got his memories back, he'd understand why he did it.

But that wasn't what was going through Pei Du's head at all.

Pei Du only caught that his wife was willing to take him to work, and his dark eyes lit right up.

He shot up from the bed, his wounds pulling open a little from the sudden movement, but the excitement on his face was impossible to miss.

"Really? Wife, you're the best!"

Chu Lanting's ears went hot again at the compliment.

He made him sit back down, pulled out a roll of gauze he'd gotten from Uncle Tian, and crushed two anti-inflammatory pills into powder to dust over his worst wound.

The white powder settled onto the raw, red wound. Every time he looked at it, his heart felt like a big hand was squeezing it.

That bitter, suffocating ache made him frown without meaning to: "This might sting. Just bear with it."

"Won't wife blow on it for me?"

The question from above made Chu Lanting, who was down on one knee, freeze.

Pei Du seemed to read the look on his face, reached over, grabbed the neatly folded thin blanket beside him, and draped it over his lap.

"That way it's fine. Wife, it hurts a bit—will you blow on it for me?"

Pei Du was huge—had to be over six-foot-three. Even just sitting there, he gave off an intense, overwhelming presence.

And yet this guy, with all that imposing energy, was now pitifully begging for a little blow...

Chu Lanting swallowed hard, then finally straightened up, leaned in close to the wound, and blew on it softly.

He heard the breathing above him get heavier. He knew his eyes shouldn't wander, but his gaze still drifted down on its own.

That one look made Chu Lanting's breath hitch. His hands, gripping the edge of the bed, clenched into fists. He yanked his gaze away and shot to his feet.

"Done... ah!"

His head bumped into something above him. Chu Lanting raised a hand to his head, and then saw Pei Du in front of him clutching his chin with both hands, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Did I hurt you? Take your hands away, let me see, okay?"

A dull thud sounded as their head and chin collided.

Force is mutual.

If Chu Lanting's head hurt, Pei Du's chin must hurt even more.

Afraid he'd injured him, he forgot about rubbing his own head and reached out to pull Pei Du's hands away from his chin.

"Does it hurt a lot? Did you bite your tongue? Let me check for a bruise."

When he finally managed to pull away the other's hands, before he could carefully examine his chin, he felt a gentle warmth coming from the top of his head.

Then, he heard a muffled voice beside his ear: "Does it hurt, honey? I'm sorry, I was only looking at you and didn't see you get up."

A warm, large palm gently rubbed the sore spot.

Chu Lanting stood frozen in place: "You—I'm fine, are you okay? Your chin is all red, let me get some cold water for that."

Pei Du's skin wasn't fair, but rather wheat-colored. Based on the knowledge he'd picked up from Uncle Tian, he was likely often in training grounds or other sun-drenched places.

Even so, his chin was still red in patches, no doubt from the force of the collision just now.

He turned to go outside to fetch water.

But just as he turned, the large palm that had been on his head suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Feeling the tug, Chu Lanting hadn't even steadied himself when he heard a murmur by his ear.

"Wife, you haven't fulfilled your promise to me yet. You're not allowed to leave."